I've got two varieties: one that we bought from a nursery, and a second which I grew from cuttings I took from my grandmother's fig - both varieties unknown.

We've had the nursery fig for about 2 years, and the figs grown from cuttings for about a year and a half. Last summer, we were most certainly attacked by spider mites. Sprayed with End-All, cleaned the leaves manually, and let them go dormant in a cool garage last winter. Trees started off growing well this summer, but then the spider mites appeared to return. Have sprayed 2-3 times over the last 2 months with "End-All". The nursery tree appears to be growing ok, but still has some browning and spotting on the leaves.

The trees from cuttings are not doing nearly as well. One has grown a few leaves, dropped them, then grown a few more, but they look like they're being eaten by something. They develop holes/cracks in random places, and just don't look healthy. The other tree from cuttings grew a few leaves early on, dropped them, and has not grown anything for the last month and a half. There are a few green "buds" but they haven't developed into much more than little areas that look like they're going to do something, but don't. I've been watching them very closely and I can't see any signs of spider mites. I've been spraying them daily with a spray bottle of tap water 1-3 times a day.

I'm trying to figure out why they are so unhappy. First I thought it was the transition from inside to outside that gave the leaves sunburn, so I tried to keep them out of direct light. Then I found the spider mites. Now neither are an issue I don't think. I am judicious about watering, and I spray them both as a way to detect the webbing of spider mites, and as a way to keep them "Happy".

I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. Any help would be hugely appreciated. The cutting- trees mean a lot to me as my grandmother passed away and her house is just about to be sold. So no more cuttings to try again with :(

These are pictures of the trees. The one that looks the best is the nursery tree. There are two pictures of the cutting tree that is actually growing (unhappily) and a close up of the "buds" on the second cutting tree. Note that they were all great last year, even carrying figs (yes, even the cuttings which were less than a year old grew figs - and the one that is currently not growing actually ripened 2 or 3 small figs that we ate last fall)

Usally when this happens you have root problems

Too much moisture in the soil? I spray dilluted permethrin whenever I get bugs(primarily gnats and ants). Works well for me and doesn't seem to harm the trees. I wouldn't eat any fruit from them for a while afterwards though.

So when you say root problems... What does that mean? Soil too wet, or something eating/attacking the roots? And what do I do about this? I've been careful about not over watering - only once a week or twice a week despite temperatures in the mid-high 20s (Celsius) with lots of sun. (I'm in 6b growth zone if that matters)

Is the frequent misting a problem? Could spraying it with water 2-3 times a day cause some sort of fungus on the leaves?

I would not mist it. Don't know if that's the problem or not though. How old is the cutting?

The cutting is at least 1.5 years old. I cut it probably around September, grew over the winter, put into this pot last spring, and then over wintered dormant until April or so. So depending on when you start counting, it's approaching 2 years of "independent" life after being detached from the original tree.

What about the tree that hasn't made any leaves? It's making these tiny green nubs, but sometimes they go brown again, other times new ones show up, but nothing beyond that. I can't decide if misting the wood is good or bad... I think I'm going to stop spraying completely and see what happens.

One of the reasons for misting was that I read spider mites don't like moisture...

Figs grow in dry climates. I'd consider cutting back on the misting.

Hi,
I would blame it on the dirt being depleted.
I would pot up in full loam or whatever your mind dictates you to - I use loam, some use 5-1-1, some add pine bark fines, some perlite ... not debating that here.
Did you fertilize the trees ? In pots, it really is not an option if you want them to stay happy .

Now, the season is just starting - so they are not late to the game ... perhaps a bit, and I'd use fertilizer and up-potting to fix that.
Misting is not a problem as long as the temps are not fresh (night and day) and/or the sun is not hitting the tree while you do it.

Good luck !

I have been fertilizing them once every 2-3 weeks since mid summer last year. Obviously didn't fertilize over the winter. I use the miracle gro tomato fertilizer 18-18-21.

I'm worried about repotting them when they're stressed, and I've cut back on fertilizing the ones that aren't growing well. Especially the one with no leaves, I have given little water and little fertilizer because I don't want to kill it.

The cuttings started off in a 50/50 ish perlite and vermiculite mix, and once I moved them to their current pots, I mixed in just regular generic plant soil with the vermiculite and perlite, and they did well last year. I will look to see if I can find loam. But you're sure I should up-pot them even in their current health?

I'm just wondering why the leaves are looking the way they are. It looks like something is eating them, or they're cracking and drying up, but I can't find anything on them that is eating them. Here is another picture where you can see one of the older leaves with a crack on it, but also the newest leaf which was looking healthy until yesterday where a crack showed up as well. Don't know why this is happening!

Also, what do you mean as long as the temps are not fresh? It is warm here now between 18-30°C throughout the day and night. Probably doesn't drop below 20 most nights.

In my opinion, if you are changing anything, do it by changing one thing at a time so that hopefully you can figure out what the issue is. If These were my figs, I would cut back on the fertilizer first. Maybe reduce how much you give them. Something is out of balance for sure. I doubt that misting is the problem. Otherwise this could happen anywhere when the weather is drizzling, right? I only firtilize once each month and I use less than the recommended amount. Also, check your soil ph level to see if perhaps that could be causing it. But i would do one thing at a time and wait one week to see what changes. Good luck!

It's very hard to say.  Knowing where you are may help.  A city and country or if it's a small country just the country would help.  If the soil is too dense it may alternate being too wet and too dry.  Young figs are more sensitive to soil conditions than older ones.  What's the recommended fertilizer concentration?  There should be one for garden plants and 1 for houseplants.  Since this is in a pot you have to use houseplant strength or less.

I live near Toronto Ontario Canada. I'll check the fertilizer concentration, as I only thought there was 1 and I was making it slightly more dilute than the recommendation on the box.

Update: I pulled the two cutting figs from the pot to take a look at the roots, and both have quite extensive root system and it looks like they're ready to be up sized. I'll see if I can find loam, or if not buy some more perlite/vermiculite and mix it with the soil I find at the local nursery.

Also I checked the fertilizer concentration, and there is only one concentration mix on the package. Nothing differentiating potted vs. In ground plants.

And one more update: pretty sure the spider mites are back!! That may be the root cause of the problem! Went out at night to look at them with a light. Obvious webbing, and one red little bastard running around on the most vigorous of the trees.

I'm just not sure if the spray I'm using is damaging the fig leaves more than the mites themselves. I'm using safer's end all. Need oil is not legal in Ontario I'm told. Have others had issues with using end all? Other sprays recommended?? I've tried oiling the trees up with vegetable oil but they didn't like that. I've tried trounce as well, but it didn't seem to do the trick. End all definitely stopped the mites for a while. But now they're back. And still unsure if the spray is damaging the leaves.

Forbid 4f for mites. Spray once and done.

since you went out at night with a light   did you check for snails    tiny baby snails can do a job in one night  

Mayoke: If you want to stay organic, try spraying with diluted kelp. I read this on an aquaponics forum. You just dilute some into water & spray. Here's the link. http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/m/discussion?id=4778851%3ATopic%3A389247

Ok so after going nuclear last night with end all, I looked at the figs this afternoon, and the same red spider mite is still running around like he owns the place. It's quite large - I'm told they should require a microscope to see, but this one is obvious to the naked eye. Managed to capture it and take a few pictures. With a small battery for reference size. Internet can't tell me if this is a spider mite or the predatory mites that eat them... Any help??

How much sun are they getting? I ask because I'm in almost tropical florida and my figs get about 8 hours a day of full sun (the kind that will burn you to a red lobster in 15 minutes if you don't already have a tan). Your leaves look incredibly dark green to me... my leaves are medium green. Could you move the figs to a southern exposure? 

That's one of the squishable ones.  Ladybugs tend to like mites, too.

To answer some messages:

I'm looking for for forbid4f, but none of the local nurseries have it. Not sure if it's also illegal in Ontario. I'm pretty sure I've broken the organic rules by fertilizing the trees with red powdery chemicals. As much as I'd like to be organic, I'd like to have/keep my figs more. The soap/oil combos don't seem to do anything to the mites. Living in a smaller city, finding kelp to dilute may be a challenge.

Couldn't find full loam, nursery recommended a "tropical plant" soil. Have repotted grandma's figs into larger pots - definitely needed it - roots very tightly wound. Maybe that was part of the problem.

Asked the lady at the nursery about my bug problem. She didn't think the bug I showed her was a spider mite. Squishable one as in a spider mite, or some other non-harmful mite? I'm looking to see if I can attract some ladybugs. Found one in some veggies I bought and put him on the fig. Not there the next day :(

I live on the 10th floor of a building with a southwesterly facing balcony. The figs are outside all day, and i initially kept them in full sun, but I think they got sunburned initially. Now try to give them some time in the shade at the peak sun hours. Maybe they're ready to stay in the sun all day? Could the colour difference be the variety? I find the leaf colour the same as its always been. When we kept them alive in the winter a few years ago, they were less green inside. Pretty sure they get tons of sun here.

Thanks everyone for all the tips. I'll keep people posted, and I'm always open to advice!

Too wet would be my guess. If I overwater the young fig plants drop their leaves and go dormant until the soil dries out some or root rot takes them. I now add 25% small pine bark nuggets to my potting mix to lighten up the mix. For the mites liquid soap spray has worked well for me. Soak the leaves first top and bottom with the soap spray then about ten minute later spray with plain water to rinse. I use 3-4 drops of dishwashing detergent in a 12 oz spray bottle. Here in TN the heat takes care of over watering in the summer, but I do fig cuttings and strawberries under lights indoors and by late spring the spider mites are a problem. We have copious lady bugs outside so once I move them out I never see spider mite again.

Ok, so the one tree that still hasn't made any leaves continues to make little green buds on the bark, but they last a few weeks, then turn brown again. Has not made any leaves still, but keeps making these little green spots which look like they're going to turn into a leaf, but just barely poke out a bit then turn to brown bark colour. Why is this happening? What can I do to encourage them to grow into leaves? Should I keep them in the sun? Should I keep them out of the sun? Could this be related to spider mite damage?? Any help or advice would be appreciated from someone who has had a similar experience.

Hey there. Sorry you're strugging with your figs. Your mix does look too water retentive?? Just wanted to let you know, from one Ontarioian to another, both neem oil and fish emulsion are available on Amazon.ca! Personnally I don't find neem works for spider mites, usually just scale, but fish emulsion works wonders! If you're diligent :) Good luck!!