Before I had a family of fiddle leaf figs in my home, I was always warned at how particular and sensitive they are compared to other indoor plants. They can droop at the slightest change of location within a home, or start growing tiny wrinkled leaves if you forget about them. But after I spotted a sad looking fiddle leaf fig at IKEA for $28 I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try my luck at this trendy plant for such a cheap price.
Before you continue reading, read my Advanced Guide To Caring For Indoor Fiddle Leaf Figs!
Each time I have bought a real fiddle leaf fig, from IKEA or the local greenhouse, it came as two in one pot. So I this past winter I decided to finally separate the two fiddle leaf figs into their own pots – the end goal is to have them grow 6 feet and then start pruning and notching my fiddle leafs to appear like traditional indoor fiddle leaf fig trees.
But after I separated my fiddle leafs they were telling me through their symptoms that something was not right, and they told me this through their new leaves. From brown spots, to tiny wrinkled leaves, to lack of growth, to small red blotchy leaves. Every fiddle leaf fig symptom had a few different causes to be examined!
For the new growth of tiny wrinkled leaves it can mean 3 things:
Fertilizer: I took a couple weeks off of fertilizer, and after that period many of my fiddle leaf figs produced shrivelled leaves that I eventually pruned. I use a liquid fertilizer once a week with watering, this helps my plants get the nutrients they are lacking from being in the cold, dry climate here in Canada.
Lack of sunlight or water: For fiddle leaf figs to grow consistent large, healthy leaves they need to store up a decent amount of energy through photosynthesis. If you’ve moved your fiddle leaf, noticed a change in the weather/amount of sunlight in your home, or noticed your fiddle leaf figs leaves are dusty – this may be your cause! Every couple of weeks I will wipe down all the leaves on my plants, my home is older and gets dusty.
Did you forget to water your fiddle leaf for a couple extra days when it was parched? Or maybe you need to slightly increase the amount you are watering your fiddle leaf fig each week? Either or can be the cause of your new warped leaves. In my opinion, it’s better to have an under watered plant than an overwatered plant… root rot and soil that’s not draining well can be a hard problem to fix!
Trauma: When I repotted my large fiddle leaf fig because I was concerned with root rot, I noticed the new leaves that grew in the following month were warped and curly. And with some research I learned that sometimes your plant can have a bit of trauma in their roots from the repotting – and it can produce leaves like the ones in the photos above. If you wait for the next batch of new leaves to grow, they should return to their original healthy state. Be aware it can take a little longer than normal for your fiddle leaf fig to get back into it’s old leave growing pattern.
I hope this helped you if you are curious or worried about the state of your fiddle leaf figs tiny wrinkled leaves! Try some different things with consistently, and see what it responds to.
What questions do you have about why your fiddle leaf fig is growing tiny wrinkled leaves?
If you like this post check out my Best Fiddle Leaf Fig Accessories On Amazon For Plant Ladies post before you go!
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