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Appreciation post: A friend told me my plant care was 'too nice' and it saved my fiddle leaf fig

Honestly, I used to water my fiddle leaf fig every single Sunday, thinking I was being a great plant parent. A friend who's been into botany for years came over and said, 'Wendy, you're drowning it with kindness, the soil should be dry down to your second knuckle before you water again.' I checked and she was right, the soil was still damp. I switched to checking the soil with my finger every 10 days or so instead of a set schedule. After about 3 months, the plant stopped dropping leaves and put out two new ones. Has anyone else had a piece of simple advice totally change how you care for a specific plant?

3 comments

3 Comments

harperg762mo ago

I mean that "drowning it with kindness" line really hits home. I killed a peace lily with the same weekly water routine before I learned to check the soil. It's such a simple trick but it makes all the difference.

xenaf512mo ago

Oh man, did you ever figure out the right schedule for it after that? I had a similar thing with a snake plant I was basically ignoring, and then a coworker told me they actually like being totally dry for ages. I went from maybe watering it once a month to like, every six weeks, and it finally started growing.

the_amy2mo ago

It's wild how the same overwatering mistake happens with totally different plants, like @harperg76's peace lily. My big shift was realizing light changes everything too. I moved my monstera a few feet away from a bright window because it looked sad, and the new spot was actually too dark. Once I put it back in stronger indirect light, the leaves stopped getting yellow edges. The watering finger check is key, but sometimes the plant's spot in your house is the real problem.

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