It’s going to be really hard to get that looking like a proper tree especially since it’s multiple trunks coming out of the soil.

I’d grow that one as a bush.

I’d highly recommend Ficus Benjamina or Ficus Alii if you want a single trunk tree look. Those two naturally grow in that shape a million times better than Ficus Lyrata.

Bummer, this is what I was afraid of. Thanks for the tips!

Grow that one as a bush and enjoy it. There’s always room for a second tree.

Seriously, F. Benjamina and F. Alii make way better looking indoor trees.

I don’t get this Ficus Lyrata fad. Everyone wants one, but they just want it to look like a tree even though it doesn’t normally grow that way and is tough to keep in a true tree shape even with pruning.

how bout mine? i want a giant one!

You can do it easily enough if you really want to.

Above, is a shrub (Styrax japonica, aka Japanese snowbell) I grew in the ground as a bonsai start You can see where I cut off the top, and some very large branches.

I let the tree grow for a year, unencumbered by pruning:

Here it is, cleaned up a bit - didn't keep much branching, did I? I cut away everything that didn't look like a tree:

See next post below

@tapla That bonsai is absolutely beautiful! I am so very jealous!

So would you recommend I do a little surgery on the base to see how many ”trunks” I’m dealing with? I can’t really tell if this is just one trunk with multiple off shoots or whats going on. It feels so messy and overwhelming at the base.

Its still in the nursery pot it was shipped in because I wanted to let it get acclimated to this DC weather before I added extra stress.

FLF is a tree. It will be grow as a tree in shape naturally. Straight up strong stem will be dominant and grow faster. At that point you can cut other weak stems so you get a tree with single tall trunk.

It makes no sense to wait to remove the subordinate leaders if she wants a tree with a single trunk. The wounds from the subordinate trunks will just be larger and take longer to close. In addition, there is nothing that says a person must choose the dominant leader as the last stem standing. Sara could as easily choose a subordinate stem as her new, single leader based on things like its movement, the angle at which it leaves the soil, or position - related to the other stems removed.

So would you recommend I do a little surgery on the base to see how many
”trunks” I’m dealing with? I don't think it matters how many trunks there are. If you have 10, you need to remove 9, if there are 20, it's 19 you'll remove. I can’t really tell if this is just one trunk with multiple off shoots or whats going on. It feels so messy and overwhelming at the base. You probably have the cultivar "Bambino", which is just one of the names given to a dwarf form of lyrata with smaller, more upright leaves and much shorter internodes. All my advice, so far, was aimed at the fact that you want a single trunk on your tree. That's easily doable, but you'll be fighting against the tree's natural growth habit, something I think Dave might have alluded to upthread. As your tree grows, those trunks will become more exposed, so you can tidy-up around the soil line with a pair of scissors. You can even remove several trunks so you end up with a great looking clump formation. That's definitely what I would do with the tree. I'd keep 3, 5, or 7 trunks of varying thickness, shorten them (or not) based on their thickness, and remove the rest. Then, I'd get another tree that wants to be a tree, and not a shrub.

If you DO go for a single trunk, make sure you remove all buds that break low on the tree, as they emerge, or you'll be removing another dozen wannabe trunks in a year or two.

Al

Hi Al!

Do FL ficuses naturally grow in a clump like that? I had been under the impression that most were propagated by cutting, and that retailers put several in a pot so it would look more full. (I can’t remember where I got that idea though.) Except I had a similar one a long time ago (which I killed... : ( )

Also, Sarahe ... you can make new plants out of whatever you cut off. That always makes me feel better about pruning.

Al— thank you so very much for your time and input. It truly means so much. And you seem to be the fiddle leaf guru so I’m warmed that you took the time to respond and seem so genuine in wanting to help. I’ll definitly take your advice. I’m excited to get to work!

Need2seegreen— yes you are so right! I will most definitly be repotting and making new plants. Maybe spread the FLF love a bit to others! Thanks for the encouragemen!

Is this from Amazon? I just got the same one and have the same wrinkled/shriveled leaves on mine. I am going to try to separate mine into multiple plants because I also do not like the overcrowded look.

You want a tree and I want a bush!! My FLF is growing like a weed and the leaves are too far apart. How can I slow it down? I started a new one and it's doing the same. The one I cut off of is doing the same again, it needs the top cut off again.

Images, please?

Al

Sorry, I don't know how to do pics.