Ficus lyrata name comes from the fact that its big green leaves look like violin, thereby is how it got its name, fiddle leaf fig. To stay strong and healthy, they need water like all plants, but it’s not clear how much they need. In reality, it relies on the plant’s size, the season, and the temperature.

This guide will teach you everything you need to know to water your Fiddle Leaf Fig. How to keep Ficus Lyrata from getting too much water, when it needs water, and how long it can go without water. You will find out when to water your Fiddle Lif Fig the most and a lot more.

How Do I Know If My Fiddle Leaf Fig Needs Water?

There are 4 ways to know if your Fiddle Leaf Fig needs water:

  • Put your finger as deep as you can into the ground. Your Fiddle Leaf Fig needs water if your finger comes out dry.
  • Put a chopstick in the soil and into the pot’s bottom. Come up with the chopstick. Once it comes out dry and without any soil on it, it’s time to water. This is your Fiddle Leaf Fig.
  • Put the soil wetness meter in the ground. The amount of water in the soil will be shown. If it really looks like the ground is dry, it’s time to water.
  • Take a look at the leaves. If they are drooping, your plant needs a lot more water. But droopy leaves can also mean the plant has too much water.

What Is The Best Time To Water Fiddle Leaf Fig?

If your Fiddle Leaf Fig is in a pot with soil that drains well and gets enough bright light, you can water it at any time of the day. But most Fiddle Leaf Figs aren’t in bright light and aren’t in pots with soil that drains well. If you water these plants in the evening, you might get swelling. That’s why morning is the best time to water a Fiddle Leaf Fig. If you water your plant in the morning, it will have all day to use the water from the soil and make food. This makes the chances of swelling much lower.

What Is The Best Way To Water A Fiddle Leaf Fig?

For a Fiddle Leaf Fig, the best way to water it is to slowly soak the earth all the way through. Why is it best to water slowly? That’s because the soil has time to soak up the water this way instead of it just running through the pot. And this almost always happens when you pour a lot of water at once.

Check the soil to make sure it got enough water after you water it. Check a few places that are an inch below the top. This is very important if the potting mix you’re using has peat moss in it. That’s because peat doesn’t let water stick to it, so the soil below the surface may stay dry while the soil above it is wet.

How Much Water Does A Fiddle Leaf Fig Need?

The Fiddle Leaf Fig needs a different amount of water each week depending on where it is stored. One cup of water for every foot of the plant’s height is a good rule of thumb. Let’s say your Fiddle Leaf Fig is two feet tall. It needs two cups of water every week. But this is just a general rule that doesn’t take into account the surroundings where your plant is.

Here are the other factors that affect the amount of water you need for Fiddle Leaf Fig watering:

  • How big the plant is – Bigger plants need more water than small plants. You’ll find that your plant needs more water as it grows.
  • Size of the pot – The same rule holds here: bigger pots need more water than smaller ones.
  • How much light the plant is getting – The Fig plant needs more water to stay healthy the more light it gets. You should give your Ficus tree more water if it’s in direct sunlight than if it’s in low light.
  • Potting mix – soils that drain quickly need more water than potting mixes that don’t have many holes in them.
  • Humidity – When humidity is low, plants lose more water through their leaves, so they need more water when they are watered. It needs less water when the temperature is high.
  • Temprature – The plant will need more water when it’s hot outside because the soil will dry out faster. When it’s cooler, it will need less.
  • The material the pot is made of –  Plants in clay pots need more water than plants in ceramic or plastic pots. That’s because clay takes water from the ground. No matter what kind of pot you pick, make sure it has a drainage hole. After watering the plant, drain any extra water that is left in the pot.

Keep an eye on all of the above factors and change the amount of water as needed.

What Should A Fiddle Leaf Fig Watering Schedule Look Like?

Fiddle Leaf Figs need different amounts of water depending on the person and the area where they are. Someone else might find that watering their Fiddle plant every two weeks works better than once a week for them.

Most of the time, you should wait until the soil is completely dry before giving it another good watering. A dry chopstick is a simple way to tell if it’s time to water. You should stick the chopstick all the way to the bottom of the pot. If it comes out dry, it’s time to add water.

Which Type Of Water Is Best For My Fiddle Leaf Fig?

River water, pure water, and reverse osmosis are the best types of water for your Fiddle Leaf Fig. You can also use tap water, but be sure to flush the soil every two weeks or give your Fiddle Leaf Plant a new pot every year.

Minerals in tap water may settle into the ground over time. If they build up, they could hurt the roots, which will show up as leaves turning brown.

How Do You Use A Fiddle Leaf Fig Moisture Meter?

Before you use a moisture meter on a Fiddle Leaf Fig, you have to put it into the soil. After that, wait to see what the meter says.

Take note that the moisture meter might give you different results based on where in the soil you put it. If the probe is too close to the ground, it might show that the soil is dry.

When you get too close to the bottom, though, the wetness level will be high. How do you figure out what the numbers mean when you measure the moisture in the soil?

It should be used in the middle of the pot, where most of the roots are, not around the edge. Make sure the wetness meter’s tip is at the root level.

You can see how much water is there on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being dry and 10 being wet. It’s still a great tool, even though it won’t tell you for sure when to water your Fiddle Leaf Figs. It will tell you how wet or dry the soil is, and then you can start your work.

You can use it on Fiddle Leaf Figs, as well as any other tropical plants you have.

Can I Use A Watering Globe For Fiddle Leaf Fig?

You can water Fiddle Leaf Fig with a globe, but it might not be the best choice for long-term use. Fiddle Leaf Fig plants like it when they don’t get watered for a while, and watering globes keep the soil wet all the time.

As a result of this, they probably work better for short amounts of time, like when you’re leaving home for a while. Watering globes are a simple way to make sure your plants stay moist when you’re not there.

Underwatered Vs. Overwatered Fiddle Leaf Fig: What’s The Difference?

It’s hard to tell the difference between a Fiddle Leaf Fig that is too wet and one that is too dry because the symptoms are so identical. Look for these things:

  • Droopy leaves
  • Brown patches
  • Dropping leaves
  • Yellow leaves
  • Browning edges
  • Brown spots

How can you tell the difference? Most of the time, when you overwater a plant, the leaves at the bottom fall off, and when you underwater it, leaves fall off all over the plant. But it’s pretty easy to figure out what’s wrong: just look at the soil. If the soil is dry, it means that the plant is possibly too wet. If the earth is wet, you probably gave it too much water.

How To Save An Overwatered Fiddle Leaf Fig?

Repotting a Fiddle Leaf Fig that has been overwatered means getting rid of all the old soil and replacing it with potting mix that drains very well. Also, cut out any roots that are dead, soft, smelly, or mushy.

You should try to get the soil as dry as possible as soon as possible if you don’t want to do a full shift.

Providing As Much Light As Possible

Moving a plant into a terracotta pot increases air flow around the plant. This makes the pot soak up water from the soil and dry out faster.

Can A Fiddle Leaf Fig Live In Water?

Very briefly, a Fiddle Leaf Fig can live in water for just two weeks. After that, root rot will happen to the plant. While the plant is living in the water, it’s important to make sure it has enough nutrients and air.

How Long Can A Fiddle Leaf Fig Go Without Water?

Fiddle Leaf Figs can go for days or weeks without water. This varies on the plant and where it is grown. How long a plant can go without water depends on its size, the amount of light it gets, the temperature, the type of potting mix it is in, and the type of pot it is in.

Can You Bottom Water Fiddle Leaf Fig?

You can water Fiddle Leaf Fig trees from the bottom up. Watering from the bottom will make the soil more saturated. But there is a bad thing about watering Fiddle Leaf Figs from the bottom up. In this case, the earth will pull up any extra salts, which is different from top watering, where salts leave through the drainage hole. Over time, salts can build up in the soil and hurt the roots.

Varinder Pal Singh

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