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7 Best Soils for Fiddle-Leaf Figs in 2024: Reviews & Top Picks

woman hands putting soil in the pot

woman hands putting soil in the pot

Fiddle-leaf figs are beloved plants known for their thick, glossy leaves and notoriously picky nutritional needs. It can grow up to 10 feet tall indoors, while specimens in Africa (its native habitat) have been known to grow up to 40 feet tall. Choosing the right soil can be very tricky because fiddle leaf figs need well-draining soil with organic matter to flourish. In this article, we review the very best soils you can buy for your fiddle leaf fig and where to grab them.

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A Quick Glance at Our Favorites of 2024

Rating Image Product Details
Best Overall
Winner
Leaves and Soul Fiddle Leaf Fig House Plant Soil Leaves and Soul Fiddle Leaf Fig House Plant Soil
  • Peat moss provides nutrition while regulating moisture intake
  • Coarse sand helps aerate the soil and anchor the plant’s roots
  • Pine bark chips create air pockets to further promote soil drainage
  • Best Value
    Second place
    Miracle-Gro Houseplant Potting Mix Miracle-Gro Houseplant Potting Mix
  • Perlite and peat moss help feed your picky fiddle leaf fig
  • Coconut coir helps regulate moisture levels and boost water retention
  • Fertilizer included
  • Premium Choice
    Third place
    Gardenera Fiddle Leaf Fig Houseplant Soil Gardenera Fiddle Leaf Fig Houseplant Soil
  • Specifically designed for fiddle leaf figs
  • Peat moss and perlite to create a nutrient-rich soil environment
  • Creates air pockets to improve water retention and let roots dry out
  • Miracle-Gro Cactus, Palm & Citrus Potting Mix Miracle-Gro Cactus, Palm & Citrus Potting Mix
  • Perlite and fertilizer work together to enrich soil with nitrogen and other key nutrients
  • Sand anchors the plant and promotes drainage
  • Forest products enrich the soil and create air pockets for drainage
  • Superfly Bonsai Succulent & Cactus Soil Mix Superfly Bonsai Succulent & Cactus Soil Mix
  • Numerous ingredients promote drainage to prevent root rot
  • Creates a rigid structure to support delicate root systems
  • Helps roots retain water
  • The 7 Best Soils for Fiddle Leaf Figs

    1. Leaves and Soul Fiddle Leaf Fig House Plant Soil – Best Overall

    Leaves and Soul Fiddle Leaf Fig House Plant Soil

    Product size: 2.2 quarts
    Ingredients: Coarse sand, sawdust, pine bark, peat moss
    Designed for: Fiddle leaf fig plants

    Specifically designed to nourish fiddle leaf fig plants, this potting mix from Leaves and Soul contains a healthy mix of sphagnum peat moss, sawdust, pine bark chips, and coarse sand. The peat moss creates an organic-rich environment while not allowing too much moisture in the soil at one time. The pine bark chips create air pockets in the soil, which combined with the coarse sand, allows for very well-draining soil. The sand also serves to anchor the plant’s roots in the soil and prevent mold from growing. This is the best overall soil for fiddle leaf fig plants, although it’s not great for seedlings because of its inconsistent texture.

    Pros
    • Peat moss provides nutrition while regulating moisture intake
    • Coarse sand helps aerate the soil and anchor the plant’s roots
    • Pine bark chips create air pockets to further promote soil drainage
    • Specifically designed for fiddle leaf figs
    Cons
    • Inconsistent texture

    2. Miracle-Gro Houseplant Potting Mix – Best Value

    Miracle-Gro Houseplant Potting Mix

    Product size: 4 quarts
    Ingredients: Perlite, sphagnum peat moss, coconut coir, fertilizer, wetting agent
    Designed for: Houseplants

    Miracle-Gro’s houseplant potting mix provides the best value for your money, with high-quality ingredients like perlite, peat moss, and coconut coir. Coir helps regulate moisture and improve retention alongside the wetting agent, while peat moss also helps to regulate moisture and feed the soil. Fertilizer helps further increase the number of nutrients absorbed by your plant’s roots. This is a great budget soil for fiddle leaf figs, but it does not contain sand or other agents to anchor a plant’s roots. As a result, your plant will be more susceptible to molding roots.

    Pros
    • Perlite and peat moss help feed your picky fiddle leaf fig
    • Coconut coir helps regulate moisture levels and boost water retention
    • Fertilizer included
    • Affordable
    Cons
    • Doesn’t help anchor fiddle leaf fig roots
    • Needs amendment for best results

    3. Gardenera Fiddle Leaf Fig Houseplant Soil – Premium Choice

    Gardenera Fiddle Leaf Fig Houseplant Soil

    Product size: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8-quart sizes
    Ingredients: Peat moss, New Zealand bark chips, coco chips, perlite
    Designed for: Fiddle leaf figs

    If you’re looking for a premium soil blend for your fiddle leaf figs, Gardenera’s specially designed soil blend contains everything your plant needs. It has perlite and peat moss to enrich the soil and create a nutrient-rich environment, plus New Zealand bark chips and coco chips to help your plant retain more water and so the roots can dry out in between waterings. The product is available in several sizes and is good for up to 6 months. It does run a bit more than your typical soil, however.

    Pros
    • Specifically designed for fiddle leaf figs
    • Peat moss and perlite to create a nutrient-rich soil environment
    • Creates air pockets to improve water retention and let roots dry out
    • Available in numerous sizes
    Cons
    • Expensive

    4. Miracle-Gro Cactus, Palm & Citrus Potting Mix

    Miracle-Gro Cactus, Palm & Citrus Potting Mix

    Product size: 8 quarts
    Ingredients: Perlite, sand, forest products, fertilizer
    Designed for: Cacti, palms, and citrus

    This mix from Miracle-Gro is designed for cacti and tropical plants that need well-draining soil in order to prevent root rot from excessive moisture. It has a mix of perlite and sand to enrich the soil and prevent soil compaction, which also promotes water drainage. The sand also helps to anchor fiddle leaf fig plants, which have a habit of falling over in weaker soil. The unspecified forest products in the soil are gritty and woody, which improves drainage even further. Unfortunately, the soil mix seems to attract ants and other insects, so you may need a pesticide.

    Pros
    • Perlite and fertilizer work together to enrich soil with nitrogen and other key nutrients
    • Sand anchors the plant and promotes drainage
    • Forest products enrich the soil and create air pockets for drainage
    Cons
    • Attracts insects
    • Only large size is available

    5. Superfly Bonsai Succulent & Cactus Soil Mix

    Superfly Bonsai Succulent & Cactus Soil Mix

    Product size: 12 quarts
    Ingredients: New Zealand pine bark, Japanese akadama, pumice, haydite
    Designed for: Cacti and succulents

    Technically designed for cacti and succulents that need well-draining soil, this mix from Superfly Bonsai has everything that a fiddle leaf fig needs as well. Pine bark and two kinds of clay balls (akadama and haydite) promote drainage, and the pine bark creates air pockets to help water drain. The unusual addition of pumice helps your plant’s roots retain more water and dry out in between waterings. The major downside of this soil is that it’s expensive, but there are multiple sizes available to customize your order.

    Pros
    • Numerous ingredients promote drainage to prevent root rot
    • Creates a rigid structure to support delicate root systems
    • Helps roots retain water
    • Multiple sizes available
    Cons
    • Expensive

    6. Perfect Plants Fiddle Leaf Fig Soil

    Perfect Plants Fiddle Leaf Fig Soil

    Product size: 8 quarts
    Ingredients: Coconut coir, perlite, pine bark, slow-release fertilizer
    Designed for: Fiddle leaf figs

    This soil from Perfect Plants contains coconut coir to regulate water intake for your plant’s roots, plus perlite and pine bark to promote soil aeration and drainage. As if that’s not enough, it also contains slow-release fertilizer to further enrich the soil to ensure your fiddle leaf fig flourishes. The soil was made with fiddle leaf figs and other ficuses in mind, and it’s both light and airy. The major downsides of this product are that it’s expensive and some users mention inconsistent quality control.

    Pros
    • Coconut coir enhances water retention while not flooding roots
    • Perlite and pine bark promote drainage and aerate the soil
    • Contains slow-release fertilizer for long-term growth
    • Specifically made for fiddle leaf figs
    Cons
    • Expensive
    • Inconsistent quality control

    7. Fiddle Leaf Fig Plant Food Soil

    Fiddle Leaf Fig Plant Food Soil

    Product size: 7.9 quarts
    Ingredients: Bark chips, wood biochar, coconut coir, green compost
    Designed for: Fiddle leaf fig plants

    Perhaps the most environmentally friendly choice on this list, this Fiddle Leaf Fig Plant Food Soil contains high-quality and sustainably sourced ingredients that will help your fiddle leaf fig plant grow. The wood biochar and green compost will provide tons of nutrients to the soil for your plant’s roots, while the coconut coir and bark chips help regulate water levels and prevent your plant from developing fatal root rot. As an added bonus, the packaging is made from 100% recycled material. The main con of this soil is that it lacks structural agents like sand to anchor the plant’s roots, so they may be more vulnerable to strong winds.

    Pros
    • Sustainably produced
    • Wood biochar and green compost provide high levels of nitrogen and other key nutrients
    • Coconut coir and pine bark chips help stabilize moisture levels in the soil
    Cons
    • On the expensive side
    • No structural agents to strengthen soil

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    Buyer’s Guide: How to Pick the Best Soil for Fiddle Leaf Figs

    Fiddle leaf figs are a very rewarding plant to grow, but their idiosyncrasies make them tricky to deal with. You have to tailor your approach based on their unique needs—namely, water retention and drainage. The most common ingredients used in some of the soil blends above help to deliver on all your plant’s needs, so you should check out a bit about them as well. Let’s dive in.

    Water Retention

    Ironically, fiddle leaf figs need water, but not too much at once. This makes ingredients like coconut coir great for fiddle leaf figs, retaining some moisture and releasing it in trickles. This helps to not overwhelm the plant’s finicky root system. Perlite also helps aerate the soil, which lets water flow freely in the roots and soil.

    Drainage

    Fiddle leaf figs are prone to root rot and other types of molds, which can be fatal if left unchecked. Compounds like perlite, wood chips, sand, and clay can help break up compacted soil and ensure water doesn’t stagnate around the fig’s roots. The saying goes that fiddle leaf figs don’t like wet feet, referring to their roots. They need to dry out between waterings, and aerating agents are critical.

    Commonly Used Ingredients

    Some of the most common ingredients that you should look for when searching for soils for your fiddle leaf fig include:

    • Perlite: a type of fine volcanic glass used to break up compacted soil and promote aeration
    • Peat moss: well-draining but also retains some moisture to slowly release
    • Coconut coir: crafted from the fibrous coconut, coco coir helps aerate the soil as well as regulate water retention and drainage
    • Bark: creates air pockets that promote drainage and eliminate compacted soil
    • Sand: prevents soil compaction and improves soil drainage

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    Conclusion

    Fiddle leaf figs might be intimidating to grow, but they’re not that difficult. Simply use one of the soils on this list of reviews, like the Leaves and Soul Fiddle Leaf Fig Houseplant Soil, or if you’re on a budget, try Miracle-Gro Houseplant Potting Mix. Allow your fiddle leaf fig’s roots to dry out in between waterings and watch out for signs of root rot!


    Featured Image Credit: rolkadd, Shutterstock

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