Ficus lyrata repotting & pruning

10 years ago

last modified: 10 years ago

Hello! I am a brand new fiddle leaf fig owner. As the growing season in northeastern OH approaches I am trying to plan my growing strategy. I have done some research on soil and repotting, but I have a few general questions.

-Is it okay to repot and prune/encourage branching shortly thereafter, or should I wait until the next growing season to attempt to create new branches?

-My ficus has two trunks. Is this indicative that they are two separate trees potted together, or are they just two trunks of one plant? I am wondering if it is possible to separate them before I get them out of the pot.

Thank you in advance for accommodating my rather novice questions, but I am very excited about this tree and I want to try my best not to mess this up! :)

-S

Featured Answer

tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)

10 years ago

Is it okay to repot and prune/encourage branching shortly thereafter,
or should I wait until the next growing season to attempt to create new
branches? New branches will come if you optimize cultural conditions or force back-budding via pruning. For this plant, I would concentrate on bare-rooting, removing only problem roots, and getting the plant into a soil that allows you to water correctly w/o the plant having to pay a toll in terms of diminished root health/function from a soil that remains saturated too long. Prune after the plant starts pushing new growth subsequent to the repot.

-My ficus has two trunks. Is this indicative that they are two
separate trees potted together, or are they just two trunks of one
plant? Could be either case. You'll know when you repot. Make sure you're prepared for either eventuality. I am wondering if it is possible to separate them before I get
them out of the pot. That sounds like wanting to extract a dollar bill from your wallet w/o taking it out of your pocket/purse .... or a pill from a pill bottle w/o removing the cap. You really DO want to get a look at what's going on below the soil line before you decide on a course.

-Ideally, I would like for my ficus take more of a tree shape,
whereas it now more closely resembles a bush (see picture). Is this
achieved through pruning of the lower leaves, or is there a different
tactic used to achieve this? You can work on more than one aspect at the same time. Leaving the lower branches on for now strengthens/thickens the trunk ...... and they can be removed any time. Putting them back on because the trunk is too weak to support the top is much harder. Start thinking about developing the top when your tree is about 2/3 as tall as you ultimately want it to be. At that point you'll remove the apical meristem (growing tip of the main stem) to force back-budding near the top. From that point forward, you'll allow branches to grow 4 leaves and then prune the branch back to 2 leaves. . You'll get 2 branches (1 from each leaf axil [crotch]). When you repeat, you'll get 4 branches, then 8, then 16, 32, ....... That is how bonsai practitioners create fine ramification (lots of twiggy branches and leaves).

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Comments (7)

zzackey
10 years ago
I don't see any picture.
Sara
Original Author
10 years ago
My apologies, I messed up the upload the first time!
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Sara
Original Author
10 years ago
Update: upon repotting, we discovered that this was in fact two distinct trees, which we repotted separately. We didn't remove many roots but got rid of virtually all the spent soil. We placed the two trees into pots that seemed large enough to accommodate the height of their respective root systems, but as there were not a ton of roots I am worried the pots may be too big? I anticipated a "recovery" period for the trees to acclimate, but it's been over a week and both trees are very droopy and the smaller one has lost a couple of leaves. Should I wait it out or have I made some sort of mistake along the way? Both pots have drainage and the soil mix used is pretty fast.
jamilalshaw26
10 years ago
I think they'll recover just fine. Sometimes plants sulk after a repot. I repotted my Peace lily and for a week it was limp, got yellow leaves, and lost a few leaves. That was two weeks ago and its now flowering! So give your beauties time.

Do your plants sit by that air vent?
Sara
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you for the input! It's an air return rather than a vent, and unfortunately is one of the best spots in the room in terms of light. It sat there a few weeks before the repot and didn't seem to have any issues with it, but I am a little wary of the placement.
jamilalshaw26
10 years ago
Your plant may not like that air blowing on it. That may have something to do with its leaves still being limp.