PSA: I was overwatering my fiddle leaf fig for a whole year without knowing

I got a fiddle leaf fig from a local nursery in Austin about a year ago and kept giving it a cup of water every Monday. The leaves started getting brown spots and dropping, and I just thought it needed more light. Last week, I finally stuck my finger in the soil and it was completely soggy an inch down. I looked it up and realized I was drowning it by watering on a schedule instead of checking the soil. Has anyone else killed a plant by being too nice to it?

3 comments

3 Comments

nancy8243mo ago

My overwatered basil taught me that lesson.

elizabetha921mo ago

And it's funny because we always hear about root rot from overwatering, but nobody talks about how it messes with the flavor of the leaves. I noticed my basil got kind of bitter and watery after I had been giving it too much water. It's like the plant starts focusing on survival and stops putting energy into making those good oils and flavors. Even if you catch it in time and the plant lives, the taste never really comes back the same way. I almost think overwatering is worse than underwatering because at least dried out basil has that concentrated flavor.

olivert183mo ago

Yeah, overwatered basil is the worst. Let it dry out completely.

-1