Hope everyone's having a great Memorial Day weekend!

Over the past few days I've noticed that the top set of leaf stems of this cutting are drooping/bending and I can't figure out why.  All the other leaves below, and leaves of the other cuttings, have straight leaf stems.  

Any thoughts?


Current care details:  It was growing well since I up-potted.  The soil test showed depleted nitrogen, so I added Milorganite organic nitrogen fertilizer which is 5% Nitrogen (supposedly no burn due to added iron)

I water twice a week.  Some fungus gnats present so I started treating with Nematodes last week.  However, other cuttings of same have some gnats and are healthy looking.

   

It nay just be getting hot outside and may have to adjust as summer moves in. Move it to the shade and see what happens in three uour time. If it straightens up just water it a little more often like every 3 days. Just have to adjust the watering scedule more then likely

That's an interesting point.   I did notice it's seemed not as bad in the morning, so perhaps it preferred the cooler temps. 

I'll move into the shade as suggested.   Thanks.

I am always moving plants around till they can handle the heat. I am in Louisiana and its hot as fire around here. I water every other day unless the soil is wet still. They seem to like some liquid fertilizer onxe a week. My black mederia is my most heat tolerant tree never wilts at all and ut has fmv thought the fertilizer seems to be helping

The plant looks fine to me from the photos.  Some drooping and curling of leaves in the middle of a hot day is not uncommon even with proper moisture in the pot mix.  My VdB and a few others show this when it gets above the mid-80's.

I've never had issues with fungus gnats harming outdoor figs and I see them around the potting mix all the time.  They only seem to do harm with newly rooted cuttings in-doors.

I've been having a similar experience with two trees in 5 gallon sips. I took it off the water reservoir for a couple of days with no change and now I'm trying to add a little more water from the top to see what happens. Mine started to happen before it even got hot (60s-70). Leaves were actually drooping on mine too. Perks up some each night. At the end of the day, new green growth kind of feels like a weed that had been pulled out and set in the sun a couple of hours (limp and soft)...Not the usual crisp feeling.

The tree looks great to me. Is it a Chicago Hardy? Very nice pasture. Like the guys said ,it's common to see leaves droop and wilt on a hot day. It is their way to defend themselves from the sun. I have mine planted on 5 gal buckets with very good and quick drainage , light soil, and I water them every night. They seem to be very tolerant to heat this way. I fertilize every two weeks with a diluted MG liquid feed! Figs seem to like poor soils ( when inground) as long as you do not let their roots dry out. Best of luck with your tree .

Don Sanders:  You're exactly right - I checked and they seem to perk up at night/early morning.  Then they look like their dying during the day, but sounds like this could be normal. 

Chris K:  I actually don't know what kind of fig it is.  They are clippings from a family tree.  Here are some pictures of the figs the family tree produced - any guesses?

 

Hi figlegacy,
Try this for me : Shade the pot . Do you have a wooden or cardboard box ? Put the pot inside and close the lid - make a hole to let the trunk(s) out .
I think that you're just cooking the roots and the tree can't do anything against that as new roots keep on being burned. So shading the root zone is the a possible and easy cure .
My in ground tree take 40°C for two weeks without wilting ... Except the ones buried in trashcans if they don't get proper watering ... With proper watering they handle the heat the same.

Looks like a Chicago Hardy to me. Leaf and fruit matches but with figs you never know lol.

The lack of rebound at might can be used as an indicator of when it is time to water the trees. I used this method in Houston.

James:   I used to do that as well - water when wilt.  But it's only been two days, watered on Saturday.    I fear over-watering as I've heard that's bad news.  
But I'll try anything, and give watering every day a shot, especially since it's been hot here in NJ. 

ChrisK - I think you're right - other pictures I've seen of Chicago Hardy look similar - Thanks!

Jdsfrance:  - I like the idea of shading the pot.  In conjuction with more watering, I think I'll put a cardboard box around the pot.  To waterproof, I'll use the space-age "plastic wrap" from the kitchen.  Not the prettiest solution, but fits in my budget.  
 

That should have been "when it doesn't rebound at night".