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Fiddle leaf fig drops its lowest leaf every week since I moved it two metres Diagnosis
Moved it from beside a south window to the other side of the same room, about two metres further in, because the leaves were getting scorched in the afternoon. That was six weeks ago. Since then it has dropped one lower leaf roughly every week, always the bottom one, always yellowing first from the outside edge inward. Watering when the top 5cm are dry, which is about every 12 days now. Nothing on the leaves, no webbing, no sticky residue. Do I move it back or is it adjusting?
@root_rot_rex · 2mo ago · 3 replies
Two metres into a room is a much bigger light change than it looks, often 70 to 80 percent less light, because light falls off with distance and the window frame narrows the angle. A fig responds by shedding the leaves it can no longer afford to run, and those are always the lowest and oldest. Dropping one a week for six weeks is it balancing its budget, not dying. Move it back toward the window but add a sheer curtain instead, which cuts the scorch without cutting the light, and expect the drop to stop within a fortnight.
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@root_rot_rex · 2mo ago
Phone apps read in the wrong units and average across the frame. If you want a number, measure at the leaf pointing back at the light source, and compare readings between spots rather than trusting the absolute value.
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@repot_ren · 2mo ago
That explains why the drops started three weeks after the move rather than immediately. A cheap light meter app said the new spot was fine, which I now distrust.
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