I have been growing this fiddle leaf fig for years (originally from Costco) since it was maybe 1.5’ tall. Within that time, it has produced the offshoot to the side and has continued to produce new leaves. The main stem is thin and weak (hence the bamboo support). I am scared to do something that will “hurt” the plant but ultimately want it to be as healthy as possible. I follow standard watering recommendations (filtered) and have recently begun giving it the “fiddle leaf fig plant food” liquid which is 3-1-2 (Nitrogen-Phosphate-Soluble Potash) at watering. Advice on pruning, care, otherwise? It is kept approximately 8’ from a west facing window and away from any air vents.
by Commercial_Club1897
2 Comments
https://preview.redd.it/1ic1lzw7kplg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=38a25365471245ed03034306f763d0e1d67c7eba
Photo of base
Don’t get me wrong, you are doing a lot right and your plant is pretty healthy! But it will probably never be able to support itself as long as it has a stake supporting it. Movement from wind (and bending from gravity) are what tells the tree that it needs to thicken up. Shaking the tree every day also might help.
The other reason it’s so skinny is because it might be stretching looking for light. If you can give it more light, the trunk would grow at a rate that wouldn’t bend over under it’s own weight. If this were my tree, I’d move it so that it’s right smack in the middle of your brightest window.
Pruning: At this point the only real way to get the trunk to stand up on its own is to reduce the weight on the trunk enough that it can support itself. By the time the plant grows as top heavy as it was before, the trunk will have no trouble supporting it self.
As for where to prune, prune where you’d like the trunk to start turning into branches. Most likely you will get between 1 and 4 new branches near the cut point. I personally think it’s best to match the height of a fiddle to the window it lives in, so I’d prune the main trunk just a bit taller than your window sill. That way all the new growth will have maximum space and time getting sunlight coming from that window.
PS, the cuttings are very easy to propagate.