We likely all know about and love the fiddle leaf fig tree – it’s a gorgeous plant. In the past few years though, they’ve been so hard to find and very expensive. I found one a couple years ago in the flower district that was a good six feet tall, but was priced at $250! Ouch.
If you’re looking to add one of these lovely trees to your houseplant collection, IKEA sells mini plants (about two feet tall) for around the $14 mark (I wrote about those here). They don’t come potted though (but it’s easy to use one of their pretty terra cotta pots that I love so much – they weather beautifully). Home Depot and Lowes both recently starting selling fiddle leaf figs on a wider scale (it was sort of urban legend for a few years, but this year I’ve seen them in New York, New Jersey, Arizona and California, so I think it’s safe to say they’re available in most states). This little three+ footer was only $20 and it came in a pretty little pot probably worth $15 on its own.
I bought a five footer for only $30 for my bedroom.
Getting it home safely without spilling the soil everywhere in my car was the only tricky part. I found putting it the front seat worked best.
It’s a good thing the price went down so much on these trees beacause they can be a little finicky (read: very easy to kill). They need lots of sunlight, but it can’t be too harsh, and just the right amount of water (which seems to be about a cup per foot of tree, once a week?).
If you find a good spot for your tree and it seems to be thriving, try not to move it – or even rotate the plant. Often their leaves grow in a way to maximize sunlight absorption, so moving or turning the plant can really throw the plant for a loop.
I water my plants just once a week – every Friday evening. I used to actually put it on my calendar, but it’s become a habit now and I don’t have to remind myself. My thumb is no where near green (see this post from earlier this year!), but I did myself a favor and started looking up how much water and sunlight plants need to thrive, and suddenly I wasn’t killing everything! (I did accidentally neglect that Bougainvillea tree in our mudroom though and it’s toast now – bummer. Maybe I’ll just get another fig tree?)
Also, check out this cool planter I found and spray painted for our bedroom.
I loved the Greek key pattern and thought it would be pretty in a crisp white.
I just used a spray primer that I had on hand and no top coat (I know – such a rebel). Don’t forget to spray the first few inches of the inside lip.
Pretty right? It’s made of clay and it weighs a million pounds, but it will last forever and it was only about $25 at Home Depot.
Do you have any fiddle leaf fig tree care tips? Have you seen them in your local hardware stores? Or were you one of the suckers that spent $250 on a tree a few years ago, like I so desperately wanted to? :)
Our two Home Depots carry them, here in southern CA, but they are a bit more expensive than what you guys seem to be finding them.
We bought a cheap one at Ikea about a month ago, a good 3-4 feet for $15. We regretted not buying two. We went back the following weekend: all gone! Dang!
Viva la fiddle leaf tree!
Love the color of your walls! Is this Knoxville Gray?
I got more tips on how to take care of FLF. I passed a shop over the weekend that had a huge 15', full FLF and I asked them how they took care of it.
He suggested watering the plant weekly with a dropper of Schultz Plant Food, wiping the leaves monthly, and periodically rubbing them with mayonnaise. The mayo one is weird, but he said it makes the leaves shiny and the plant seems to really like it. I grows so well he has to cut it back.
Hope this helps some of you! So happy to have this post! Thank you!
Nina|http://itsazooatthezoo.blogspot.com/
The mayonnaise thing is an old deep south method of shining up plants…and the claim is that, yes, the plants like it!
After I read this post, I went to Home depot to see if they had any FLF's. To my surprise they did and for cheap! I do have to say though, I had it sitting on a table by our front window and I went to rotate it and saw that it had stained my beautiful wood top! I am so bummed! I moved it to the floor and it is now sitting on a tray. Totally wish I read all these comments beforehand! Other than that, I am in love and I am so tempted to get another – might wait a bit longer to see how long I can keep it alive!
Thanks for the post!
XOXO
My 5' FLF came from Home Depot (Florida) & it was on sale for $20 about 6 months ago. Out of the three stalks, 2 have thrived. I changed out the soil to the one that holds onto moisture, & the plant liked that change.
Last weekend in Jupiter, FL, I saw a humongous FLF tree right by the ocean. It was gorgeous!
I joined the craze a few months ago and spent around $140 on a 6ft. tree at a local nursery. Sounds like I joined the crazy two months too soon if now they are available at Ikea and Home Depot!
Mine is doing ok, but not great. The leaves that are facing away from the sunlight are turning brown underneath and at the tips. I've read that this is caused by overwatering, but I can't imagine that I've overwatered this plant. I probably give it a quart a week. It hasn't dropped any leaves yet, but also doesn't seem to be growing.
Thanks for the spray paint tip. I haven't found a planter that I like that's modern enough for our contemporary home decor.
Rotate it 180 so that it gets sun. I’ve had them for a long time
And moving them doesn’t seem to bother them at all but keeps all of the leaves beautiful.
So bummed my Ikea doesn’t sell live plants here. When I lived in Florida my Ikea always did. I’ll keep checking home depot and lowes, they didn’t seem to have them last year. Also kinda bummed they are easy to kill, I love plants but I don’t have the greenest thumb either.
Just purchased one on Amazon.com for $57, including shipping (not prime eligible). It is a 2 footer so I can’t wait to get it home. Anyone who lives in a state that doesn’t carry them locally should try online.
where did you purchase the $20 & $30 tree? A friend of mine gave me hers because it seemed to be on its last limb – the stem/branches are shedding I think that means its donezo. I’ve been wanting to purchase one anyway but don’t want to spend a boat load of money and would like to buy full grown or 2-3ft.
Fiddle leaf figs have gotten cheaper in the past year or so because they are so popular – Home Depot now has them for $80-100 for a very tall one! I love the planter you spray painted! I also love how fiddle leaf figs look planted in baskets so I went on the hunt for the perfect one. I did a round-up here… http://fortandfield.blogspot.com/2017/07/potting-fiddleleaf-fig-in-basket.html
I will love 2 have a fiddle plant’s i have other kind of plants but that one I’m trying to get
the white painted pot does look nice, but is it practical with no drainage? there’s no saucer under.
Found my flf at walmart, someone had pulled it out of the root ball, about 1 ft tall. They marked it down to $5, i took it. 2 years later and newly repotted( carefully) it is 4 ft tall and beautiful.