Rant: My friend's fiddle leaf fig looked dead for a year until she moved it three feet

She kept it in a corner of her living room in Portland, and it just dropped leaves for months. I finally told her to try moving it away from the cold window draft. After about six weeks in a new spot with more light, it put out five new leaves. Has anyone else saved a plant just by changing its location?

3 comments

3 Comments

sarah_hart1mo agoMost Upvoted

Yeah, it's definitely not a coincidence. Harper_white, I get the doubt, but drafts and light changes over a few feet are huge for some plants. My own fiddle leaf dropped leaves nonstop in a spot that seemed bright enough. Turns out it was in a cold spot from the window at night. Moving it just a bit away from the glass made all the difference. These plants can be super sensitive to their exact spot, more than we realize. It's always worth trying a small move before giving up.

oscarc531mo ago

My monstera was a total drama queen until I figured out the AC vent was blasting it. Moved it to the other side of the room and it finally started putting out those cool split leaves. Sometimes they just hate a specific spot.

harper_white1mo ago

Honestly, that sounds like a total coincidence. Plants drop leaves for a million reasons, like overwatering or needing fertilizer. Moving it probably just lined up with the changing seasons. In my view, people give way too much credit to tiny location changes. A three foot move in the same room rarely fixes a plant that's been dying for a year. It was likely going to bounce back anyway.