Fiddle leaf tips turn brown
Plant: Fiddle leaf fig (Ficus lyrata)
How long have you owned the plant? 6 months to 1 year.
Plant Parent
The tips of the leaves turn brown – on new leaves and older leaves. The lower leaves on the plant have also been falling off. Sometimes the new leaves come in entirely dried up and fall off. It has been happening since I’ve been looking after the plant (around a year), however I have had 3 new leaves come in successfully.
The overall plant:
How do you determine WHEN to water? I wait for the soil to become completely dry.
Describe HOW you water: I fully soak the soil and let excess water drain away.
Other watering details: I mist the plants every few days. I have been watering more frequently since it has been summer, around every week and a half or when soil is dried out.
Light situation:
Fertilizer: I have always used Baby bio houseplant food, NPK 10.6-1.9-1.4
Assessment:
Thanks for submitting your photos and care details!
Your plant has a spider mite infestation – I can see the sure signs of their presence:
Given that you don’t have that many leaves, I suggest you treat the plant in the following ways:
– Lint roller or masking tape: gently go over every leaf surface (front and back) with the lint roller to pick up any grains (which are the eggs) and active insects (which are very small and difficult to see)
– Insecticidal soap: spray the entire plant with insecticidal soap (use according to package instructions)
Note: you will need to repeat the above treatments at least on a weekly basis until you see no more spider mite activity – it can take a few months but the subsequent treatments should be much quicker as you would have removed the majority of the spider mites with the first treatment.
More on spider mites HERE.
Unfortunately, the damage that’s already done (brown dots and silvery patches) will not go away but hopefully when you get the infestation under control, future leaves will be pristine.
For a more sensible approach to houseplant care:
- Read my books: ‘The New Plant Parent‘ and ‘The New Plant Collector‘
- Take my online course: Essentials of Houseplant Enjoyment
- More detailed houseplant Q&As
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