I keep reading everywhere that fig trees need a full 8 hours of sunlight a day.

But that is clearly not the case with my figs.   Of the two I purchased the larger one is getting about 2 hours direct light and the smaller about 15 minutes.

Both have yellow, burnt edge leaves and the larger one displayed massive heat stroke today, blotching and burning on almost all of its leaves, in about 85 degree weather.   Its fruit is ripening but several are drooping even though not fully ripe, as if they are about to be aborted.   The tree is clearly under stress.    Moisture meter says they are fully wet but I can't trust the meter, so I added more water which seemed to help.

I moved both trees into the shade and I guess will leave them there for some time now.  I have to say this is a surprise.

The meter says it needs to be 'calibrated'.   How ridiculous is this?   If I knew what the ideal moistness was I wouldn't need a meter!  I guess I just have to kill a few plants until I get it "calibrated" right......

As long as your mix drains properly a fig of that size will not be hurt by frequent watering.  Depending on your weather some people have to water 2x/day.  If the top inch or 2 is dry, water the plant.  Excess fertilizer will also burn the leaves.  If the soil mix stays saturated the leaves can also turn yellow.  If there's a drain hole you can judge the moisture level of the mix by sticking your finger in there.  If there's no drain hole then the mix is likely to be over saturated.

There are a number of drain holes in both, but I'm forever defeated having plants by the 'yellow when overwatered, yellow when underwatered' phenomenon.   I have killed plants by overwatering before, though even though the meter said very wet it clearly needed water this time.

Surely the yellow browning, curling leaves and splotchiness is from too much sun, or not enough water?   

Oh no:

https://dengarden.com/gardening/Brown-Leaf-Tips-whats-wrong

".....unsightly brown at the very tips of the leaves or around the edges of the leaves, there are a few things that may be happening. The simplest explanation of this phenomenon is that you have been over-watering your plant...."

"

• Yellow leaves caused by over watering will be a mosaic of both yellow and green throughout the leaf and the leaves will still be firmly attached to the plant.
• Yellow leaves caused by under watering will be solid yellow and will fall of or detach with little to no effort.

"

I have both splotchy leaves firmly attached AND solid yellow leaves on the same plant, some that have fallen.

Ewwwkay then......

Throw away the moisture meter. You can't depend on them. The problem is likely too much sun for the conditions present.

If your mix drains as well as it should then you can water every day in this heat. I'd say your plants are too dry and/or not rooted in well enough. That means regular watering is needed.

I have lots of houseplants and, like any potted plant, providing the correct amount of water is crucial to their survival. Too much and they die, too little and they die.  What works for me is I just poke my finger in the soil and if I can feel the soil slightly damp at about an inch deep, then it doesn't need watering.  If I don't feel any dampness, then I give the plant a good soaking. If the pot isn't partially buried in the ground, it's important to have a "plate" under the pot that holds about an inch of water to prevent all of the water from just running straight out and away from the pot before the roots even get a chance to soak any of the water up. 
 

>> throw away the moisture meter >>

I may as well throw away the plant too.   Years of experience killing plants has proven my finger or my guesswork is not a reliable indicator and I need help this time.

These pots are very deep and belled on the bottom (see pic) at least 16" so a few inches down isn't going to tell much.    Which is why I bought the 17" probe.

I gave the plant a good soaking today even though the uncalibrated meter reads 10 wetness on a scale of 1-10.   There is drainage and no plate, though its hard to forget I just recently killed a hibiscus tree OUTSIDE by overwatering in the 90 degree heat, it died of root rot.  Trying to be smarter this time.

If it drops all its fruit by tomorrow, then I suppose I'll have an answer.

Jeff:

I understand you are frustrated. But I don't think it's that complicated. It hasn't helped that you've started three posts on the same issue. That spreads out the relevant information. So I read all three posts again and find that these are newly up potted plants. That's important because that means the new media has few if any roots yet. That's going to read 10 on your meter even when the original rootball, where there are roots, is too dry.

So most likely the soil is too dry where there are roots even when the new soil is dripping wet. Get the media with roots wet once a day and your tree should be OK.

Well I'm not frustrated, just that the plant is yellowing and dropping leaves and trying to discover and take appropriate action before its too late.   As I said earlier I recently had a Hibiscus tree die after 2 months effort due to a watering issue, in fact it was two, both died.    The new moisture meter I purchased and my post being efforts to help prevent a repeat.

I'm not sure why the forum is showing 3 threads on this same issue, I only opened one.     In fact I only see one thread in the forum when I look now(??) not sure why that would be the case.

The meter read 9 close to the plant and 10 (wettest) at the bottom of the pot, but the plant appears still to be needing water.  Three of the base leaves have yellowed completely and curled/browned as of today, around the lower portion of the trunk.  

I added, so we'll see how it goes.  It seems my own dumb luck I purchased a water meter that seems not to work.

It would be helpful to know where you live and what potting mix you are using.  Oh, and yes, potting up in the peak of summer is usually not a good idea unless the roots are not disturbed.  However, I always disturb the roots when potting up i.e. I do some root pruning to keep root circling in the pot to a minimum.  If you don't do this it will likely cause issues later.

It's possible that your plant is too wet. But only if the media doesn't drain well or the pot isn't draining.

I used a Menards black potting mix and mixed in some Perlite for drainage.   The pots are 30 gallon, quite tall with bell shaped bottoms.  Each one has about 6 holes in the bottom and a small layer of rocks.

Enough holes so that when I water it water drains out the holes and on to the porch.  

The yellowed leaves are all firmly attached, do not come off, if that is any help.   Some of the big leaves also have some light yellow spottiness.

Because the pot is so deep and flared at the bottom, I have always suspected the soil would not dry out fast.   This is why I've been afraid of overwatering since the beginning.

here's an updated picture with the spots

Your tree has the fig mosaic virus, aka FMV. Your fig is fine. All but one of my in the ground trees had FMV until I planted them in the ground. Some handle it better than others.

Welcome to the world of figs!

Still not sure which direction to go in.   However what about the possiblity that the tree, having stood in the direct sun this afternoon, got hot roots with the black soil?    The pot itself was pretty warm before I moved it.

If that was the case, some kind of mulch might be advised to keep the heat off the soil.  I happen to have cedar mulch here.

However, if this its overwatering, that I imagine would be the last thing you would want to do.

It might be worth it to compare the picture from my first post in this thread, to the most recent one as there was a watering in between.

Did it improve, get worse, or remain the same?   To me the leaves seem to be pointing up more after watering, even though perhaps the spottiness increased?

Sheesh.

@snagplus, just read your post.   Wow, I just looked that up and apparently it seems to have just broken out with this.   The other fig has not yet been infected.   

Does it ever grow out of it?    I am reading it is spread by some kind of aphid so the likelihood it will spread to the other tree seems 100%.

Although would this cause the complete yellowing and browning of some leaves, also? 

Mottling can also be a sign of micronutrient deficiency.  wait until the top gets somewhat dry and fertilize with something that has 11 or 13 nutrients.  Don't use a long acting fertilizer since you're near the end of the season.

Jeff I wouldn't worry too much about the FMV, it goes along with growing figs. Try to keep it as simple as possible.
just make sure your trees have some fertilizer,
keep the soil moist,
give your trees as much sun as they can take without wilting.
With some practice you'll get the hang of it.
One thing you might want to consider is the shape of the pot. The top of the pot should be wider than the bottom or at least the same size. The reason for this is when you need to repot or root prune your tree it will be easier to slide it out if the top is wider than the bottom. The shape of the pots you have in the picture looks like it will be hard to remove the trees to do any maintenance on them.

jeffpas,
"Cactus Mix" type of potting soil seems to be the best balance for figs, but you have to realize that this type of mix dry faster.
You might want to re-pot it and change the soil as much as you can without disturbing the roots too much, to improve drainage.
I don't see immediate threat that plant is in, once in a while, a yellow leaf here and there is very normal.
lastly, bell bottom pots will be problematic for future re-potting, the roots tend to grow across the walls of the pot the plant is in and if the neck of the pot is smaller in diameter than the base then polling the plant out of the pot will be close to impossible.

Yes, very well aware of the bell bottom pots and their drawbacks.   However at 30 gallon I am never going to a larger pot, its already almost too big to be manageable.   The tree is going to be kept under 8 feet as it has to come indoors.    I don't ever plan to repot, so the only time I see it coming out, is after it is dead.

I hesitate to put the trees through more trauma now by repotting again with different soil, after they were just repotted.    I had cactus mix but had not heard anyone suggest this on the Web before now.    I had mixed with Perlite as I said for drainage.

The biggest challenge for me will be finding that precise amount of watering, as the symptoms, and death, appear virtually identical between overwatering and underwatering.  And I agree yes the moisture meter was a bust too as it came needing 'calibration'.    Unfortuantely it was the only one with a long enough probe sold for less than $300.00 (which given the plant was $50, is just out of league).

It seems to look like all figs carry Mosaic and it springs up in times of stress, sort of like a case of psoriasis.   A few leaves have curled up yellow and fallen off now, a few more have curled a bit but still there.   So far no figs dropped, continuing to guess blindly with the water as always hope it rides out.

You do not plant a young plant in 30 gallon pot.
It is recipe for disaster.
Your plant needed to go in,a 5 gallon the most,this year.
Best luck to you

I think that your pot may be problem, When you water your fig tree, I am wondering how water reach bottom belly area where lots of white fresh roots there waiting for water.

FMV symptoms do not suddenly appear, fig bud mite symptoms do though as their population increases during summer! Nutrient deficiencies do not cause randomly arranged chlorotic spots, but fig bud mites do!

And the idea that all fig trees carry FMV is a sales tactic!