Fiddle Leaf Tree Trimming

Look at how tall my fiddle leaf tree was getting! This picture was taken almost two months ago, at the start of summer. I knew it was going to grow like crazy in this bright spot where she loves to be.

My goal was to cut it down and branch it into multiple offshoots.

I was a bit scared to trim it because I had never done it before and didn't want to ruin my beautiful fiddle leaf. But hey, nothing to worry about, it's super simple.

If you have a tall, beanstalk-y fiddle leaf plant that you want to trim and turn into a bushy little tree, then this is the post for you!

On June sixteenth, I brought my beautiful fiddle leaf out to the garage to trim it. Up close, you can see its size. Ginormous!

You can see the other reason why I brought it here to the garage. This huge plant had outgrown the tiny container it had been planted in. Look at the roots popping out. 😞

NOTE: Fiddle Leafs don't like change. Trimming is already a big issue. Of course, trimming and repotting it can cause significant trauma to your plant.

I went ahead with both the trimming and the repotting because the timing was perfect (you can read more about that below) and because the plant was already too big for that tiny container.

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a tall fiddle leaf ready to be trimmed and repotted

I got a bigger plastic container to give her more room. Here's a list of other tools/materials you will need for the job:

Don't have a Fiddle Leaf Fig? You can get yours right here.

REPOT YOUR FIDDLE LEAF TREE

Spring and summer are the best times to repot your fiddle leaf tree. Given that it's the growing season, the plant would recover more quickly than if you did it during the dormant months (fall-winter).

I used a planter that is a couple of inches wider all around than the previous one.

Miracle-Gro Potting Mix was added to the planter first. Then, I got the fiddle leaf out of the small pot and removed the old soil, loosening the root system without breaking the roots too much.

This takes time. Once done, I mixed both soils together, the new potting mix soil, and the little amount of soil that was loosened from the roots.

More potting soil was added to the planter to cover all the roots, and the soil was patted firmly.

HOW TO CUT YOUR FIDDLE LEAF FIG

The next step was to trim the plant. The red arrows in the picture below point to the spots where I planned to trim it.

All you need is a sharp, sterile pair of pruning shears.

I sanitized the pruning shears with rubbing alcohol to prevent the disease from being passed from plant to plant, since I keep using this pair to cut all types of plants. I also gave them a good sharpening with this tool.

| Pruning Shears | Pruning Shears Sharpener |

The main question: Where to cut?!

The experts say to watch for "nodes," or small white dots, on the stem of the branch. Those nodes are supposed to be left on the branch that is cut off. It is from those nodes that the cut-off branch will begin growing roots if you want to propagate the plant.

To tell you the truth, I couldn't find any nodes of little white dots on the stems of my plant. I went ahead and did a diagonal cut where it felt good to me, right above a leaf.

Using pruning shears to trim a fiddle leaf

Since my fiddle leaf has two stems, I cut both to a similar height.

I brought the now-short plant out to the garden, gave it a good amount of water, and cleaned its leaves.

PROPAGATING A FIDDLE LEAF FIG

The cuttings were immediately placed in water, hoping that they would begin growing roots, so I could eventually get two more fiddle leaf figs.

According to what I've read, this process takes time. As of today, August 5th, not even one root has sprouted. I will keep you posted on this process.

This is how the cuttings look there in the basement, close the window.