In March, most north-hemisphere Ficus lyrata begin receiving noticeably more light. Leaves put out in December, grown in the weak ambient of winter, suddenly find themselves in the reach of real sun.
This is the moment to begin rotating.
A quarter turn, once a week
Set a reminder for Sunday morning. Walk to the fig. Turn it ninety degrees clockwise. That is the ritual.
The plant will, over the course of a year, receive four quarter turns of even light across all sides. The growth will be balanced — no lean, no reaching, no bare back.
We used to recommend a half turn every two weeks. We were wrong. The quarter is better: it is small enough that the plant barely registers the change, and frequent enough that no single side grows stronger than the others.
Signs you waited too long
If your Ficus has a noticeably fuller side, if the trunk is curving toward a window, if the lower leaves on one side have begun to drop: you have been asking the plant to do work you did not know you were asking.
The correction is not dramatic. Begin rotating. Over four to six months, the plant will re-balance. It will drop some leaves on the previously-favored side. It will put out new ones on the previously-shaded side. This is not distress. This is a conversation.
