Harry Lauder leaf curl ?

I have a potted walking stick/contorted fig on my back deck (western exposure, full sun). I water it almost daily and it is in a self-watering planter (with reservoir). I inspect it for bugs/disease, and do find some leaves wih a blackish ?fungus? (see photo). It is not totally infested, and I just pull off and destroy any infected leaves. Also have found some tiny spiders, again, not a lot. I have sprayed each leaf, both sides, with Safer soap. All the leaves are curled, even newly emerging ones. Is this normal? Are the leaves as contorted as the stems? Or should I be treating Harry for some sort of fungus/disease? Thanks - Pacific NW Deb

I wonder if maybe your soil is staying wet too long?

I have mine in the ground where it has really grown to a good size shrub (5 feet tall by 6 feet across). The only negative things are the rootstock sends up shoots (straight branches) which I prune off again and again and it seems to be loved by Japanese beetles.

I'm not sure what the stuff is on your leaf, but I do have a question on your watering--you mentioned that it's in a self watering planter AND you're watering it every day. Is the reservoir in the planter getting empty that quick and you're having to refill it every day, or are you pouring water on top of it as well as having the water in the reservoir? With self watering planters, all you should be doing is refilling the reservoir when it gets empty, you should not be watering it with a hose, watering can, etc on top of that or you will likely drown your plant.

I'll try less water. It's been unseasonably hot here and all my plants seem really dry. I have been watering from the top, mainly shooting the stream into the funnel hole, until the reservoir overflows (I have several drainage holes in the bottom of the pot and can easily tell when it starts dripping down below), but also getting some onto the soil itself. Maybe I need to get a smaller wand and just fill the reservoir, although I also notice that the top of the soil is often quite dry and shrinking away from the sides. Also now a bit concerned about fall/winter - we get serious rain out here (Washington) and I'm wondering if the reservoir thing may work against me.

Don't worry about the top of the soil looking dry--most of the roots are in the bottom where the reservoir waters the plant--if you stick your finger down a few inches into the pot you'll find that underneath the surface there's probably plenty of moisture. If you're more comfortable with top-watering, then I'd get rid of the self-watering planter and just water normally from the top, otherwise trust in the reservoir to deliver the water the plant needs and just fill it up when it gets close to empty.