my coworker brought in this fiddle leaf fig and we kinda abandoned it for two weeks. i come in today and it’s all droopy, so i gave it some water under this tin tray since it doesn’t have a pot. it’s leaves also have this weird stuff on it and some of them are torn. i have some questions and need guidance. i don’t own any plants so plz be gentle with me:
– can i keep it in the plastic nursery can and put it in a bigger pot? i would probably get a pot that doesn’t have a drainage hole so that the water doesn’t seep out.
– what do i do with the green powdery stuff?
– what do i do with the leaves that have brown spots on them?
i have organic neem oil but can i use that in any way? help plz
by reemboob
1 Comment
I would actually recommend repotting it into a larger nursery pot altogether, as it looks quite root bound. Many plants like to be a little crowded in their pots, but when it gets to a point where there are more roots than soil, the pot can’t retain water anymore, so the plant shows signs of thirst even when you water regularly.
Give it a new pot that’s 2 inches or so larger in diameter than this one, along with a soil that has plenty of added drainage media like perlite or bark. Make sure the nursery pot has holes. If you put it in an outer pot without holes, be sure to empty it of excess water within a couple hours of watering, so it doesn’t get waterlogged.
As for the leaves, give them a good wipe down with a damp cloth or paper towel. Neem oil is mostly useless and unnecessary here. Water will be enough to clean the leaves of any debris or residue. The brown spots look like normal mechanical damage, probably from being moved around. You can remove them if you want, but they aren’t hurting the plant as they are.