Back in March 2014, after probably a year of searching for some place in the UK to buy a fiddle leaf fig, I finally found a source. So excited I was by both my find and my subsequent purchase, I decided to share this discovery here on the blog. It ended up beingΒ one of my most popular posts ever (indeed, if you type in ‘fiddle leaf fig uk’ into Google, my post comes out at or very near the top!) – so it seems there are a lot of people in this country who had the same dilemma I did and I’m thrilled that so many have been able to get them when they are so ridiculously rare here – in fact, I still don’t know of another source where you can buy fiddle leaf fig trees (plants, yes – trees? nada).

Fiddle Leaf Fig Swoon Worthy 18 months later

Since then, I have had a lot of comments, emails and questions about my fiddle leaf fig, specifically how it’s currently doing, if it was worth the money and whether I’d still recommend House of Plants as a place to buy. It’s a pricey purchase (a 150cm tree is currently priced at Β£110 and the 180cm tree is priced at Β£170) so I can totally understand why someone would want to be sure before they clicked ‘buy’. When I purchased my 140cm tree, it was priced at Β£97.

At the time, IΒ also purchased the “Classico” self-watering planter in white that they offer in conjunction with the tree. This added an additional Β£40 or so to my order but I see the price has gone up to Β£79 (yes, that’s a hell of a mark up!).

So I guess what I’m saying is – this is not a cheap and easy buy. This is an investment.

However, after all that money spent and after all the questions about how my tree is doing, I thought I’d do a little update for you.

Here’s what it looked like when I purchased it…

fiddle leaf fig Swoon Worthy living room

And here’s what it looks like now – 18 months later…

Fiddle Leaf Fig Swoon Worthy - 18 months later!

I am GLORIOUSLY PROUD of my fiddle leaf. I have not killed it – in fact, it’s flourishing. I think in the 18 months since I’ve had it, I’ve lost 2 leaves from it (and they didn’t grow brown and fall off, they just fell off) and plenty more have grown in their place.

Fiddle Leaf Fig Swoon Worthy 18 months later

The self-watering containerΒ is like ‘Houseplants for Dummies’ – it’s the best investment I could have made for my tree and I genuinely believe that without it, my tree would not have thrived as it has (I’m notoriously terrible for remembering to water my plants). The little plastic gauge goes up when you fill the reservoir and simply goes down as the plant uses the water. When it reaches the bottom, it’s time to refill the reservoir in the bottom of the pot. I fillΒ it about every 5 weeks or so – sometimes with a bit of plant food mixed in and that’s it. The rest of the time I kind of forget about it aside from cleaning the leaves of dust with a damp cloth every 3 or 4 months.

It clearly likes the location too – my fiddle leaf doesn’t get a huge amount of direct light except in the early morning and then it’s just indirect light the rest of the day.

Fiddle Leaf Fig Swoon Worthy living room

Eighteen months on, my tree now stands at 185cm tall – that’s 6 feet tall! – and spans about 120cm at the widest point (close to 4 feet) andΒ would cost at this size and with the self-watering pot around Β£239 from House of Plants today. Would I buy one again? Hell yeah I would. Do I think it was worth the Β£140 or so I paid for it? Well, as it’s one of the most eye-catching items in my living room and considering how much I love it, the answer is a resounding yes.

I thinkΒ if you are willing to wait a year and a half for your plant to grow (I can only imagine how big it will be in another 18 months), then I reckon getting the smaller tree might be a great way to save a little bit of cash if you’re considering purchasing one.

I know fiddle leaf figs are one of those plants that many in the interior design world have grown weary of because every designer is using them. But the hell with that – I adore my tree. I could care less whether they are ‘out’ or ‘in’ or ‘trendy’ or ‘so 2013’. I think it’s beautiful.

Fiddle Leaf Fig Swoon Worthy 18 months later

 

Do you have any tips for taking care of a fiddle leaf fig tree if you have one yourself? Is it something you’re considering buying? Or do you think they’ve ‘had their day’ and they are passΓ© now? Go on, you know I love your comments…

No this isn’t a sponsored post by House of Plants in case you are wondering although if they are reading this, I reckon they should probably send me a few new plants considering how much business I’ve probably brought to them over the last year and a half! Ha!! (joking) (kind of)

**Update!!** Seems my cheekiness has paid off!Β House of Plants has gotten in touch and said they’d love to send me a plant as a thank you! OMG HOW NICE IS THAT?! Eeek! Will share soon what I’ve decided on ;) Thank you House of Plants!

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