Thursday, April 7, 2016

How to Propagate a Dying Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree

Fiddle leaf fig trees have been a staple amongst us bloggers for years now, despite them being super temperamental, at times. They are just pretty much perfect for home décor regardless of your style. Plants add life and interest and, in the case of these figs (which can grow pretty tall), drama!



I had one of my own that started as a little bush and grew into a pretty lovely tree. Then we moved. And it spent a couple of days crammed in the back of a U-Haul. (You may have read a while back how during our move our truck got stuck, and, because I couldn't pay the tow truck driver, he confiscated it with every one of our belongings. In my defense, I really didn't think I needed to carry $500 in cash with me at all times. Lesson. Learned.) 

Anyway, after we finally got moved in the plants sat on the porch for a good month not getting watered and getting way too cold. Finally, I brought it in and convinced myself that it would be fine.

Lies.

I held on for about another three months before I accepted the fact that I had killed the tree and it needed to go. Now, oddly enough, the entire tree was as good as dead with the exception of the two top leafs. So, I figured I had nothing to lose and cut them and put them in a jar of water and promptly forgot about it for two months.

One day, it occurred to me it probably needed more water (which it did), but when I went to add it I noticed that it had a crazy amount of roots AND a new leaf was forming.

Around this time, I stumbled upon a couple of pictures on Instagram about propagating fiddle leaf fig trees and, Oh My Gosh, these people made it seems so complex with tons of steps and special rooting gels. Literally, all I did was add a clipping to water and waited and I got this...



Even Figgy was super impressed...



So, before you toss out that dead fiddle leaf fig tree (or any plant for that matter) try to root it in some water. When you have a good amount of roots, its ready to plant. Which, is exactly what I did this week. I gathered my plant clipping, a pot, some rocks for drainage and some soil.


I filled the pot about 1/3 full with small rocks (purchased from the dollar store, btw). I then added a layer of soil, added my plant and filled the pot with additional dirt. I patted it until firm to support the plant. Lastly, I lightly watered it.




See the lighter of the three leaves? That's the newest one that grew while it was rooting.


 I am so happy that I was able to save and repurpose some of my favorite plant! Fingers and toes crossed that it continues to thrive.





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