The Fiddle Leaf Fig Propagation Guide

Welcome to our guide to Fiddle Leaf Fig propagation. Fiddle Leaf Figs have become immensely popular in the last few years. And for good reason – they look great as small plants, and when they grow bigger they can completely transform both the look and feel of a room with their architectural aesthetic. I own five or six of them which I propagated all from one plant. Here’s our guide to Fiddle Leaf Fig Propagation…

Fiddle Leaf Fig Propagation In Water

Here’s our step by step guide on how to propagate fiddle leaf fig in water:

Step 1: prepare what you need: a fiddle leaf fig plant, a jar of water at room temperature.
Step 2: Take a cutting. You need to take it below one of the nodes, aim for a cutting with two leaf nodes.
Step 3: Remove the leaves from the bottom node and put the cutting in a jar of water.
Step 4: Wait for 2 months or so. You shouldn’t have to change the water, only top it up occasionally. We removed the leaves from the node that is underwater to avoid the vegetation rotting and making the water go cloudy. Put it in a space where it will get plenty of indirect sunlight. After a week you should see some roots. And after a month they should start to look healthy. I let them grow out for 2 months normally.
Step 5: Pot the cutting up into a pot with well draining peat moss indoor plant compost and water it. Keep it moist for the first few weeks, then after that you can let it almost dry out before watering like an adult FLF.

For more on this type of propagation, see our Water Propagation article

Fiddle Leaf Fig Propagation In Water — One of my water propagations, the cuttings are healing over before adding water

Fiddle Leaf Fig Propagation In Soil

You can propagate an FLF by taking a cutting from beneath a node and planting it directly in soil. Dipping it in rooting hormone first can help too. In my opinion, using water to develop roots first is the best way to go, as you’ll have an already established root system.

Three of my young fiddle leaf fig propagations in soil

Sphagnum Moss Method

To root a fiddle leaf fig cutting in sphagnum moss, you can make a cutting ensuring to include a node. Put the cutting in a cup or jar of soaked sphagnum moss so the node is surrounded in moss. Keep the moss damp, but not water-logged. In two months the roots should have grown well enough to pot up into soil. The moss method is good for avoiding rotting, which can happen more with soil and water methods.

Tip For Successful Rooting Of A Fiddle Leaf Fig

Here are a few pointers that will lead to a much higher success rate..

Keep the water clear, if it starts to go cloudy, then replace it. This will reduce the risk of rot.
If the water goes cloudy it is most likely due to vegetation under the water rotting, so remove and leaves that are below the surface of the water.
Use tap water, filtered, and left overnight.
Be patient! These do take a few months for the roots to grow, so hang in there!

FAQs on FLF Propagation

Here’s some frequently asked questions on FLF prop, I’ll add them here as they come…

Can I Propagate Fiddle Leaf Fig From A Leaf?

You can root a fiddle leaf fig leaf from a leaf cutting, but it will not become a full plant unless a node is included in the cutting. The leaf will basically just grow roots and survive, but it will not grow into a big plant.

Fiddle Leaf Fig Propagation: Where To Cut?

An ideal cutting will have 2 nodes, you can find a node, as it is where the leaves grow out of. So you want to go to the top end of a branch, and count two nodes down and cut below the second node down. I.e. there will the top set of leaves coming out of the same place, then below that an inch or a couple of centimeters of bare stem, then below that another se of leaves coming out of a node, and you want to cut below that.

How Long Does It Take A Fiddle Leaf Fig To Root In Water?

The roots of FLFs are slow growing and it can take up to two months until you get a plant with a healthy root system to plant up into soil.

Fiddle Leaf Fig Propagation Timeline

It will take 1 to two months to root from the day of taking the cutting planting it. Then in month 2 and 3 the roots should develop. In months 3 and 4 you should see new growth from the top of the plant. In month 4 you can pot the cutting up and it once it is grown into it’s new container it will grow well.

Can you propagate a Fiddle Leaf Fig with air layering?

Air layering can definitely be done with an FLFs – this is the process of scraping back the bark around a node while it is still on the plant. You then cover the node in wet sphagnum moss and cover that with an airtight bag/wrap. This encourages root growth. You keep the bag moist inside and after a month or two when there are a good amount of roots you can cut below the node and plant the cutting. There is more on air layering on our Rubber Plant Propagation guide.

How Fast Does Fiddle Leaf Fig Grow?

They are slow growers when small, but can grow a few feet or half a meter or so when mature.

Will Fiddle Leaf Fig Leaves Grow Back?

They do not grow back, new growth occurs at the top of the plant.

Do Fiddle Leaf Figs Grow Fruit?

Fiddle leaf figs do not produce fruit.

Fiddle Leaf Fig Roots Growing Out Of Pot

They can put out roots above the soil normally. But check that the plant is not root bound and move it p a size or two if the roots are crowded.

Summary

Fiddle Leaf Figs can be propagated in a number of ways, the easiest being water propagation. It is a great way to get more of these beautiful plants for free.