Raising Francis Fiddle – How To Keep Your Fiddle Fig Tree Alive

Do you admire seriously luxurious plants on Pinterest, or wonderfully green plants on Instagram? Do you find yourself silently crying a little into your hands because you can never seem to keep yours alive? Yes, that was me crying like an emotional wreck, envious of those who managed to grow a healthy forest inside a bland suburban home.

I always wanted indoor plants in my own place. As a child I remember exploring my Grandparents house, my imagination would run wild about the fairies and magical creatures that lived inside. I was always fascinated by the enchanting greenery that grew in every corner. My Grams loves her garden and feels like a piece of her is missing if she’s not surrounded by roses and nature.

Fast track to my adult years and I’m now in my own home. I think it’s safe to admit that I’ve been buying up an indoor plant storm. “Buy some indoor plants, it will be easy” they said. Since I posted my first photo of my plants, I have had numerous people question how I’m even keeping it alive. By the sounds of it, there are a lot of “not so” green thumbs out there. Indoor plants are easy to look after? Ok, I want to strangle who ever first said that, not everyone has the touch of the green thumb.

My indoor plants appear to be flourishing so far, maybe I inherited my Grams’s magical gardening skills? Not really, I just researched my butt off so I knew what I was in for before I bought up the nursery. The plant I adore the most, is our Fiddle Fig Trees. They are bang on trend, look fabulous when they are growing strong and tall, and they brighten even the dullest of spaces. I of course had to jump of the Fiddle band wagon too, my new scandi style home wouldn’t have been complete without this addition.

How do you raise a baby Fiddle?

About a month ago, we brought our very own Fiddle Fig Leaf into our home, we named our baby Francis. He weighed in at a healthy 3 pounds and was just under 60cm long. His leaves were lush, vibrant and I was an instantly proud Mumma. Fiddles are meant to be treated like your own baby, lots of tender loving care and attention. It surprised me how much I took this new “Mumma” role seriously. As soon as I brought him home, I instantly panicked about the care I was giving him. Did I water him today? Am I watering him too much? Does he have enough light there? Is the sun frying his leaves there?

Let there be light– According to my research (hellooooo Google) Fiddle Leaf Figs absolutely crave sunlight. They need it to thrive and if you position them in the delicious sun then they will eat it up. If you position them in a darker area of you home, they will actually follow the sun and begin to grow crookedly. They don’t grow so efficiently in darker spaces, they are afraid of the dark. In saying this, if yours is sitting in a dark space right then stop reading and go and move it to a brighter corner.

How much is too much– You might be surprised to learn that Fiddles don’t need all that much water. A generous soaking at least once a week is all my Francis receives and he seems to be loving that amount. But how much is that exactly you ask? Well, it really depends on how big your fiddle is. Francis is roughly 1m tall and I feed him about two standard cups of water a week. If your fiddle is smaller then reduce this amount slightly. Still confused? My general rule of thumb, is to stick my finger in the soil (sounds gross) and if it feels dry then I will give him another drink. If the soil is still damp, then don’t over water it (you don’t want to drown the poor green baby).

Creepy Crawlies– It was a fear of mine that if I brought living plants into my home, that I would also bring creepy crawlies inside too. I am delighted to say that this hasn’t yet happened and my house has been bug free so far. The trick with keeping the nasties away is keeping your Fiddle clean. They get dusty just like anything else inside, so wiping down the leaves with a damp cloth once a fortnight will help keep the spider webs off and will also allow the leaves to breathe naturally. There is nothing better than seeing your baby Fiddle all shiny & green, I swear he smiles back at me when he’s had a wipe over.

A Mummas Voice– Ok, sounds bizzare but Fiddles are like babies and actually respond to people around them. If you sing to your Fiddle or have a sneaky little chat with it, I promise he’s listening (perhaps do this when no one else is around, you don’t want to look too cray cray).

I would love to see you with your new green babes in your homes. Please tag me on Instagram at @misskyreeloves to show me how your Fiddles are growing up to be stong, healthy, little cherubs.