My neighbor's advice on repotting a fiddle leaf fig backfired badly

Last spring, my neighbor Mike said to just put my fiddle leaf fig in a huge pot so it wouldn't need repotting again for years. I followed his advice (moved it from a 10 inch pot to an 18 inch one), and within two months the roots rotted and the leaves all dropped off. Turns out, going way too big traps too much moisture around the roots, which I learned from a plant shop downtown. Has anyone else been given plant care advice that sounded good but wrecked their plant?

3 comments

3 Comments

ryan_ellis1mo ago

Man, Mike really set you up for failure there. Sounds like he was trying to help but accidentally created a swimming pool for your fig's roots instead of a nice home. I've had a friend do the same thing with a snake plant and it turned into a mushy mess in like two weeks. It's funny how the advice that sounds the most convenient is usually the one that kills your plant dead. Hope you can save what's left of that fig, maybe try a pot that's only a couple inches bigger next time.

parker_park81mo ago

You've been through it too, huh? That pot size thing is exactly where people mess up. They think bigger is better for roots but really it just drowns them. I've had a few plants go south that way and learned the hard way to go slow with pot size. Honestly, if that fig's roots are still white and firm, there's a good chance it'll bounce back with a smaller pot and better drainage. Just give it time to dry out between waterings and it should settle down.

piper_reed1mo ago

Oh man, tell me about it! @parker_park8 calling it a swimming pool for roots is spot on. I made that exact mistake with a pothos once, went from a 4-inch pot to a 10-inch thinking I was being generous, and it just sat there rotting for months. Took me forever to realize I was basically giving it a jacuzzi with no drain.