Despite being a comparatively low-maintenance houseplant for people with a green thumb, figuring out how to properly take care of a fiddle leaf fig takes work. It needs its sunlight to be bright but not direct or its leaves will burn; it’s sensitive to temperature fluctuation and may go into shock if you leave the 65º to 75ºF range; and when it comes to moisture needs, it’s like the Goldilocks of water levels, needing everything to be just right.

That’s where red spots you may be seeing on your fiddle leaf fig’s leaves come in. When a fiddle leaf fig — scientifically known as Ficus lyrata — needs something, it will let you know in visible ways. Red spots are your plant’s way of telling you it’s experiencing water stress, most likely from over-watering. But don’t worry just yet — just like it may not be too late to bring a dried-out fiddle leaf fig back to life, you can potentially bring your over-watered plant back to health if the issue hasn’t progressed to root rot.

To get your watering back to the optimal levels, let the soil dry out a bit, but not so much that it starts shrinking away from the sides of the pot. You’re aiming to get the top two inches of soil dry again, which you can check with your finger, or wait for a soil moisture meter placed down near its roots to read “almost dry.” Fiddle leaf figs need well-draining soil and pots with drainage holes at the bottom, and if excess water runs into your plant saucer, empty it ASAP. Letting the plant sit in the excess water can contribute to the red-spotted symptoms of overwatering.

The red spots on the leaves are likely edema, which means the leaf cells have over-filled with fluid and ruptured. The plant then produces something called anthocyanins — the antioxidants responsible for red, blue, and purple-hued fruits and veggies — which may be to try to self-correct its water regulation. Botanical scientists have also theorized that the anthocyanins are meant to act as a natural sunscreen, so if fixing watering doesn’t work, your plant may be telling you its source of light is too direct and it needs to be moved. Edema and leaf burn aren’t an immediate death sentence for your plant, and if you correct these sunlight and watering mistakes when caring for your fiddle leaf fig, it should be thriving again in no time!