Did I kill my recently transplanted fig tree?

Question

I transplanted a small dormant fig tree from NY to MD last fall. All winter it was potted indoors, with some sunlight. I watered it regularly with fishtank water (should be high in Nitrogen). A few weeks ago it started developing foliage quite rapidly. This weekend I moved it to the yard (south exposure, though moderate direct sunlight). The transplant was pretty simple, root ball slid right out of the pot, no major trauma. It’s been very warm all week. Within days (well almost hours) all the leaves bleached white and dried up. Is there any hope for my little guy? Did I murder it?

Answer 1

It is likely still alive. What happened is it got a bad case of plant sunburn called sun scald. It happened when plants are moved to rapidly from a low light indoors environment to a high light outdoor environment. These directions will help you avoid it in the future:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/houseplants/hpgen/move-houseplant-outside.htm

But, for now, while it does kill the leaves, plants like fig trees can normally recover pretty rapidly. Keep it outside and resume normal care and you should see new leaves shortly.