Your fiddle leaf fig is large and glorious and loves its sunny window spot, but can you move it outside in the summer? We've checked with the house plant experts to see what they had to say about changing your fiddle leaf fig's locale and have the information for you here.
You can move your potted fiddle leaf fig outdoors if you have the right location for it. If you want to transplant it to an outdoor location, you must live in the proper climate for it to survive.
Let's look at the best strategies for moving your fiddle leaf fig tree outdoors. We'll also look at the climate that won't work for your tree and how much sun is too much sun for a fiddle leaf fig tree.
Can I Move My Fiddle Leaf Fig Outside?
We can look at this in two different ways. Do you simply want to take your potted fiddle leaf fig tree out of doors for a summer vacation? Or do you want to permanently transplant the tree to the garden so that it can grow even more? Let's look at the answers to each of these questions and see how you can do this without damaging your tree.
Can I Move A Potted Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree Outdoors For Warmer Months?
You can definitely move your potted fiddle leaf fig tree outdoors for warmer months. But keep a few things in mind. Ensure the plant is in a sheltered location where it doesn't get buffeted by wind or heavy rains. Fiddle Leaf Figs love moist; still air and hot or cool drafts can cause them to drop leaves with the fluctuation in temperature. (If they drop a few leaves in the move, don't panic, it is probably stress, and they'll grow back.)
Give it some time to adjust to the sunlight. The indoor light is indirect, and moving it straight into long periods of direct sunlight may cause leaves to burn and fall off. Put it in a slightly shady spot, particularly shade from the hotter afternoon sun, then as the plant adjusts to the outdoor light, you can give it an increase of sunshine.
Can I Transplant A Fiddle Leaf Fig Tree To The Outdoor Garden?
If you live in the right climate, your fiddle leaf fig tree can be transplanted outdoors. First, you need to know its temperature requirements. A fiddle leaf fig tree needs nothing cooler than 50 degrees at night and nothing hotter than 95 degrees during the day. And it needs a humid environment. This makes it a bit hard in the US to find a great location for it as many of our humid climates get colder and hotter than its specifications. It is a rainforest plant originally.
But if you have near-ideal temperatures and a sheltered spot that gets good filtered sunlight, then transplant away. You will want to slowly transition your plant. Leave it in its pot for a week or two, gradually introducing it to more and more sunlight. Then transplant it to the ground, giving it proper nutrition and soil in its new location. Be sure to water it a couple of times a week if you lack rain so that it doesn't dry out.
Soil like this is the proper mixture of soil and nutrients for a fiddle leaf fig tree. Click here for this on Amazon.
Should I Rotate My Fiddle Leaf Fig?
Fiddle Leaf Figs love light, bright spots in your home. But they can tend to grow and leaf out a bit lopsided if not given even sunlight. That's why it's a great idea to put your fiddle leaf fig on a rotation schedule. Give your lovely house plant a 1/4 or 1/2 turn every 2 weeks to keep it growing evenly on all sides. It's how you'll end up with a really full and beautiful tree.
Get a starter tree here on Amazon.
How Cold Is Too Cold For Fiddle Leaf Fig?
Anything below 50 degrees is too cold for your fiddle leaf fig tree. They're a tropical rainforest plant, so they are used to temps that range from the 60s into the 80s with a lot of humidity. Most of us keep our temperatures set between the low 60s and the low 70s on the thermostat. This is what makes them such ideal house plants.
If you keep your house on the cooler end of the range, be sure your fiddle leaf fig tree is not in a drafty spot and has access to warmth and sunlight every day. If your house is on the warmer end of the range, be sure your fiddle leaf fig has enough moisture not to dry out and isn't in a direct beam of sun, near a fireplace, or vent.
How Do You Keep Fiddle Leaf Figs Alive In Winter?
If you've moved an outdoor fiddle leaf back indoors for the winter, it will need to transition just as it did to move outdoors. Find an ideal indoor location, away from drafts and with good sunlight. You may need to supplement its transition by giving it a grow light or investing in a small humidifier. Both of these things can help emulate its outdoor environment.
These small ceramic humidifiers are both attractive and functional to use near tropical indoor plants. They're battery-powered, quiet, and easy to put where you need them. Just add some water and let them go to work, keeping your fiddle leaf fig tree moist and happy. Click for these on Amazon.
An LED grow light like this will help give your fiddle leaf fig tree the light it needs to survive.
Click here for this light on Amazon.
For outdoor fiddle leaf fig trees, the best way to help them survive winter is to make sure they're in a climate that doesn't stay much below 65 degrees and doesn't get lower than 50 degrees for any sustained amount of time. Too cold, and you'll lose leaves and risk losing the tree.
Can Fiddle Leaf Fig Take Full Sun?
Fiddle leaf figs actually love full sun, but if they've been in partial shade or filtered sunlight, you'll need to acclimate them. The best way to do this is to gradually increase the amount of time per day in the sunlight. Move their pot or container to more and more sunlight. They can handle 6-8 hours of full sun per day when allowed to adjust.
If your fiddle leaf fig exhibits any of the following signs, it might be because they need more sunlight.
- slow growth
- leggy growth
- leaning toward the windows
- dull spots on the leaves
- yellowing lower leaves
Send Your Fiddle Leaf Fig On A Summer Vacation
As you've seen, it is possible to move your fiddle leaf fig outdoors. Just remember, it needs acclimation and a sheltered spot out of the wind and the harsher elements. If temperatures will drop much below 60 degrees, you'll need to move that gorgeous tree back indoors.
We hope you enjoyed this post here on GardenTabs.com. If you'd like to visit some other posts about indoor tropical plants, please see the posts below:
How destructive are the roots as compared to rubber tree or other ficus’s?
My outdoor fiddle Tree is 5 metres tall. I have it for 37 years. Needs to aclimatise before planting outdoor. Very beautiful lush tree.
The indoor ones are about 2 metres tall. Hardy, showy handsome house plant, very low maintainence plant.