Specialty Gardening: Trees in Containers - a Discussion, 1 by tapla

tapla wrote:
I don't like to prune and repot (tropical) Ficus at the same time, and the picture doesn't give a very good idea of what the branch placement is, but I think we can work from general instructions.

You want to envision the new apices a-puh-sees ... the new tops of the stems after you prune them) in the shape of a tepee. First pick the branch closest to the center of the branches. You can change the planting angle when you repot, so keep that in mind. It would be helpful to put something under the pot to tip it so your main stem is vertical before you prune. Start with the outside branches and prune the outside stems back to 2 healthy leaves by cutting about halfway between the second & third leaf. The stem will die back to the leaf & you can cut it back to live tissue later after back-budding. Your main stem should have 4-5 leaves on it and it the top of the tepee. After you have the outside branches and the main apex pruned, prune the remaining branches to whatever leaf fits into the tepee best. They will probably be 3-4 leaves, but prune back to 2 if it fits the tepee better.

Get the tree outside into good light. It will tolerate full sun well, but acclimate it gradually. Don't worry if it sheds the leaves you left - new leaves will grow back quickly. It will back-bud like crazy & grow a bunch of new branches (with smaller leaves). Ficus leaves naturally get larger (when mature) as the branch extends, so if you wait until branches get 4 leaves, then prune it back to two, your tree will be bushy & full by summer's end. Sometime shortly after the 4th of July, we'll root-prune & repot and your tree will be sooooo rejuvenated it won't know where to grow next.

Be thinking about what you want to use for soil, too! ;o) If you're up for making it - the gritty mix will make your tree very happy.

The shape you're shooting for is something similar to this scheff in my office:

Al