Brown spots on the fig leaves

Question

I bought a fig tree from the local garden centre, and it has looked healthy from the very beginning. It had a couple of leaves that had brown spots on them, which I gently removed. New growth came, and it was looking wonderful. Now, brown spots are coming again. Any suggestions? It is in a very sunny position in my Lanai It is in a 10-12 ” pot at the moment. Am I over watering? Does it need a bigger pot?

Would appreciate your response.
Thanks,
Maggie Donson.

Answer 1

It sounds like it might be fig rust. Does it look like the picture in this article?
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/figs/figs-disease-rust.htm
If it's fig rust, the best thing you can do is prune for better air circulation and try not to get the leaves wet when watering. Applying a copper sulfate and lime fungicide might help, too. You'll find a lot more information in that article.

If your leaves really don't look like the one in that picture, take a look at this article and see if your symptoms match any of these other diseases:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/figs/common-fig-tree-diseases.htm

Answer 2

The most common culprit is fig rust, a fungal disease:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/figs/figs-disease-rust.htm

Fortunately, it is not serious, and the best way to control it is to remove the affected leaves as you're already doing.