Plant care guide
How often to water a fiddle leaf fig in Colorado
Not on a schedule. The number to water to, why Denver changes it, and what the brown spots mean.
By Kyle Lutze, Certified Colorado Gardener · 12 October 2026 · 6 minute read
Why "once a week" kills fiddle leaf figs here
The fiddle leaf fig is the plant we are called about most, and the story is almost always the same. It was watered every Saturday. It looked fine through spring. Then in November the lower leaves got brown patches, a few dropped, and the owner watered more.
A fiddle leaf fig in July, in a bright Denver window, with long days and dry air, can drink a liter in a week. The same plant in December, with the furnace running and eight hours of weak light, drinks a fraction of that. A weekly schedule is right for about six weeks a year and wrong for the other forty-six. In winter it drowns the roots, and a fiddle with wet roots shows it as dark brown blotches that start in the middle of the lower leaves and spread outward.
The number to water to
Get a probe moisture meter
$10 to $15 at any garden center. Push it in four inches, near the edge of the pot, not against the trunk. Read it in two or three spots and take the lowest.
Water at 3, not before
On the usual 1 to 10 scale, a fiddle leaf fig wants to drop to about 3 between waterings. At 5 or 6 it still has plenty. If it never gets below 5, the pot is too big, the soil is too heavy, or there is no drainage, and no watering schedule will fix that.
Water all the way through
Slowly, until water runs out the bottom. Empty the saucer after twenty minutes. Small sips every few days are the worst of both worlds: the top stays damp for gnats and the bottom stays dry for the roots.
Mind the water itself
Denver tap water is alkaline and mineral-rich. Over a year it pushes the soil pH up and leaves salts behind, which shows as crisp brown edges rather than wet brown blotches. Filtered water, or tap water left out overnight, slows it. Flushing the pot with a lot of water every couple of months and repotting every two years resets it.
Reading the brown spots
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Dark brown blotches in the middle of lower leaves, spreading | Too much water. Let it dry to 3 and check drainage. |
| Crisp, light brown edges on many leaves | Too little water, or salt build-up from hard water. Check the meter first. |
| Leaves dropping from the bottom, no spots | Not enough light. Move it closer to the window. |
| Pale bleached patches on the top leaves | Sunburn. A south window in summer here is strong. Pull it back a few feet. |
| Red or brown speckles on new leaves | Edema, from uneven watering. Harmless, and it stops when the watering evens out. |
| Tiny flies rising from the soil | The soil is staying wet. See the fungus gnat guide. |
Light and placement in a Denver home
A fiddle leaf fig wants a lot of bright light and no direct afternoon sun. At a mile up the sun is stronger than the care tag assumes, so an east window is ideal, a south window works a few feet back or behind a sheer, and a west window will scorch it in July. Keep it away from heating vents, which dry the leaf edges faster than anything, and do not move it around. A fiddle that is relocated drops leaves to protest, then settles.
When to call
If more than a third of the leaves have spots, if the trunk is soft near the soil, or if the plant has been in the same pot for more than two years, it is past what a watering change alone will fix. We check the roots, repot into a chunkier mix if needed, and leave you with a written number to water to. Plant health visits start at $65, and a repot of a large fiddle is priced by pot size on the repotting page.
Related: Why are my houseplants dying? and Houseplant care in Colorado's dry climate.
If the fiddle is not cooperating
Send a photo of the leaves and the pot. The phone consultation is free, and a fiddle leaf fig can usually be diagnosed from the pattern of the spots alone.