having been indoors forever.. it should not be in sun ... it needs to be hardened off to such .. though i understand sun intensity is not as big a deal.. as far north as you are. .. better safe than sorry ...

except for shape.. it looks rather healthy ... so good work there ...

any idea when it was last repotted??? .. though im not sure i would fix that which is not broken ...

i wish i could see more of the interior structure.. i am sure you can.. thru judicious pruning.. bring it into a more pleasing shape ... but i dont know where to suggest to begin.. one thing for sure.. i would NOT go with just a hair cut ...

lets see if i can find some vids for you to peruse..

and good luck

ken

maybe the third link?: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Ficus+Benjamina+reshaping&t=ffcm&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos

i also note it might be easy to propagate ... and if so.. you might want to make some clones.. and just start over ... and get rid of the old beast.. since you will have a NEW old beast ... and this would solve the repotting issue .. or make it moot anyway ....

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Ficus+Benjamina+propagation&t=ffcm&iar=videos&iax=videos&ia=videos

This is so cool, Al. Thanks for sharing!

to clarify my idea ... get some new ones started ...

and in the meantime.. get a good pair of pruning shears ... and learn how to prune ... its a great plant to experiment on .. and learn ...

even if you end up massacring it .. lol .. and you still have the new ones ...

pruning is not all that a big deal .... and understand.. in tree time ... it will come back.. no healthy tree ever died due to pruning ...

try to cut further back .. and try to see the future .. how the tree responds .. and if you dont like how it works out in a year or two ... you can cut it further back and start the process over ...

it really isnt a cut it once.. and never have to go back and clean it up ...

and for sure.. in the house.. turn the tree once a month or so ... so all sides get exposure to the light ...

ken

Thanks so much Ken and Al, that’s all super helpful.

Sounds like a repot is first on the list and then a serious prune! Like the idea of propagating too, that would be great to do.

Al, on the repotting, should I try to do any root pruning as well or just stick to fresh soil?

I will post some more photos tomorrow so you can hopefully see the formation a bit more clearly. I can see it needs to lose a lot, I guess it’s just knowing how to go about it.

Will take some more pics in the morning!

Thanks again,

Susie

Al, how and where can I learn how to do that. I just don’t even know where to start. That tree is awesome!

Heya, a couple more photos in case that’s of any use...

Am doing same with my cousin's F. benjamina. Took it outside, put it in shade. Pruned it severely for shape (experts might have counseled to do it over a period of months; I was impatient). Repotted into fresh, well-draining medium. Water generously. Already leafing out copiously, a month later. This plant is very tolerant of poor conditions, one of the reasons that it has been such a popular houseplant for decades.

Josh - the first time I saw a bonsai tree was on a business trip when they were setting up a bonsai show to open the next day. I was awestruck and knew I wanted to learn the art. That was in the 80s and I'm still working hard to learn more and gain proficiency. The key to success for bonsai practitioners and people who love to nurture plants as a hobby is being able to keep your plants alive and healthy enough to bounce back from the considerable amount of stress we ask the trees to endure. The healthier the plant, the more it will tolerate in terms of bending/ shaping/ pruning/ wiring/ repotting.

Some bonsai techniques are very advanced. For instance, a skilled bonsai practitioner can literally take a branch from one side of a tree and move it to the other side. It might take 3-4 years to complete the process, but when you've been working a tree for 20-30 years, it's not much time. We graft branches and roots to trees, bend branches you would think impossible to bend. Other techniques are VERY simple, require almost no additional effort, and it would be a shame not to share them so others can apply them to the betterment of their tree's health and eye appeal.

The 2 primary challenges that face bonsai practitioners and hobby growers alike, are closely related. The first I mentioned in this post - you have to be able to keep your plant's alive if you're going to get as much from the growing experience as possible. The second part of that is, it's essential that you know how to keep your plants' root systems healthy. The plant cannot be healthy if the root system is compromised, which is why I put so much emphasis on soil choice and techniques that can help you avoid the inevitable penalty plants pay for an excessive amount of water in the substrate.

If you really do want to invest the time/effort to gain proficiency at bonsai, I can help you learn the all-important basics, just from what I can link you to here at GW/Houzz. From there, once you can count on your ability to keep your trees healthy, or even before that, you start learning the innumerable techniques you'd want to have in your bag of tools. I don't know where you live, but joining a bonsai club would be a very good decision. You'll find lots of help/ advice from members, and the club will have activities like workshops, demos, and lectures about a wide variety of topics. Attend bonsai shows. For the artistic part of the art, attend the critiques of show trees offered by the masters and practiced artists who are part of the show. Their insights are invaluable.

Sorry for that detour, Suzie. I think it's going to be too difficult to try to sort out how to do the specific pruning by looking at 2D images. So I'll start out with general advice; and maybe, when we get it whittled down a bit we can revisit its appearance and get more specific. Remove the branch/trunk that juts out low on the tree and has been pulled back toward the tree. It's not unfixable, but it isn't important to the end composition and it draws your eye like a magnet.

You're looking for a tree within the tree. That is, you'll want to try to envision a smaller tree within the existing mass of branches. You know the top 1/3-1/2 of the tree will be pruned of, so look at the foliage masses below that and try to imagine what looks out of place. If 2 branches close together cross, remove one of them. If you have branches that grow back toward the center of the tree, remove them. If you have branches growing straight down, remove those. Usually, branches growing straight up can be removed. Now, when I say "remove them", I mean remove them entirely or remove them until the reason for pruning them has been eliminated.

Keep in mind you can take your tree back to only a few strategic branches. E.g., if you can find 3-10 branches that look like they would make a good framework to build on - don't be afraid to do that.

Tip - if you want to know what the tree would look like w/o a branch you're giving consideration to removing, drape a towel over the branch to cover it. It will be as though you removed it.

Al

Al, I had no idea, you are full of wonderful surprises! I'm seriously contemplating execution for my more lackluster ficus, at the end of this summer deck season.

I say that every year. They seem so much bigger when I bring them in for the 6 month winters up here...

So nice to see you in a less stressful setting! If you're not as well versed in pruning as you are in the ways of the world, I can help you reduce the size of the tree now so you can manage to move it back indoors come fall. It's easier on the tree if you prune it back hard when it's energy reserves are topped off and current photosynthesizing ability is peaking (which happens to occur tomorrow, by the way [summer solstice]). Let me know if you need/want help. Instead of piggy-backing, you can find me here. Have you ever considered repotting - as opposed to potting up? I think I discuss that in the piece I linked to. Hava great weekend!

Al

Hi all,

Just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone for your help and support on this one. So useful to get these comments.

We had a great day yesterday working on the tree, which has now been repotted into new soil, root pruned and had a serious haircut! Looking back at the old photo I do wonder if we’ve now taken off too much, but time will tell!!

New photo below to show you the difference.

Still a bit of work to do on the shape but didn’t want to take too much more off! Further comments/suggestions welcome but mainly wanted to say thanks and let you know how we got on!

Susie

Great job - looks soo much better! No need to be concerned you over-pruned. Monitor moisture needs carefully, though, to avoid over-watering. A 'tell' works very well to that purpose. More about using a tell below.

A few suggestions: The first is, cut the top back just a little to get rid of the awkward heavy branch moving to the right. I would cut the top of the main trunk back to one of the smaller, more upright branches just below that branch heavy branch. It will look more natural if the branch diameter decreases as the ht of their attachment point decreases.

Another suggestion involves the lowest branch on the trunk that moves left. Where the first bifurcation (forms a 'Y') occurs, follow the top/heaviest half of the bifurcation to the end of the branch. I would also cut that branch back to a smaller branch. One more and I'll leave you alone. ;-) There is a branch on the right which emerges about in the middle of the tree (halfway between the soil line and the top. The branch bifurcates near the trunk and throws a branch moving right about 25* to the horizon, then almost immediately throws a branch about 85* to the horizon, which looks like it's moving toward the back of the tree (in the image). I would prune the overly long main branch back to the smaller branch moving up and back. If you decide to go ahead with these suggestions, and, f you feel like providing a couple additional images from different angles, I might be able to suggest some minor adjustments to help sort out the top.

Again - great job pruning!

Using a 'tell'

Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support good root health, which is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to a build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor.

In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water.

Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'.

One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue.

Al

Al,

Is this your suggestion? I figured that I would graphically lay it out to make it easier.

Thanks, Matt. Not quite, the top or apical cut would be immediately distal to (just beyond) a very thin branch somewhere near the top. You might have had the same sense I did regarding where the cut should be, I can't really tell.

You have the right branch on the right side, but the pruning cut will be immediately distal to the upward-moving almost vertical branch proximal to your mark.

Again - the correct branch on the left, but I was thinking it would be better if it was cut back to one of the much smaller branches out toward the end of the branch you marked.

When I used Windows, there was a program (Photoshop?) that allowed me to mark up and alter drawings; but I switched to a Linux OS (I'll NEVER go back to windows) about 10 years ago. They have thousands of open/free software programs for naught but the downloading, but I haven't yet found one as user friendly as the Windows program I used prior. Bummer.

Al

Al, have you tried gimp on Linux? It takes a while to get used and not as slick as Photoshop but works well.

Thank you! I'll ck it out now, though I think I already tried it - not sure.

Al

I never got why I could go on using Microsoft and Windows-based systems since my first computer back in the early 90's (remember 80286 processors with DOS and 1mb hard drives?) and been perfectly happy while others have vehemently sworn off them forever. shrug

On the top, the cut I made is immediately distal to a small branch on the left, which is somewhat difficult to make out because of the quality. Had to put on the old readers myself.

Do you post on Bonsai Nut, AL? I didn't think I recognized anything that looks like your style of writing, and I would have thought you'd be a fixture there. I have been diving pretty deep into bonsai, and devouring information as it has been rapidly eclipsing my houseplant hobby.

Bit confused with above posts. The original post is by Susie the ficus belongs to her. But looks like the photo Matt is using is the same ficus. Perhaps you are using this as your own learning experience which is fine but left me confused.

Matt, if you can join, a bonsai club nearby. It becomes lot more satisfying when you can see the 3D structure of your and others plants and exchange ideas with others.

Thanks for that Al, and Matt for marking it up! I’ve made the top cut fine now.

On the cut on the left, there aren’t any branches between where Matt has marked it and the final branch at the end (v sparse - hoping for some growth here??). I’ve marked up the branches on the attached photo (branch A). Is it best to go back to where Matt has marked it or leave as it is?

on the cut on the right, I *think* the branch youre describing is actually not as long as it looks on the photo. Branch B on the marked up photo is pretty long - should this be cut back?

I will post a couple more photos from other angles too. Sorry for the quality of the image - they are high res when I click on them but obviously not for you guys - not sure how to rectify that!

Thanks again,

Susie

On the cut on the left, there aren’t any branches between where Matt has marked it and the final branch at the end (v sparse - hoping for some growth here??). I’ve marked up the branches on the attached photo (branch A). Is it best to go back to where Matt has marked it or leave as it is? You decide. You want the general outline of the tree to take a shape sort of like a broad cone with a round top. That means you want to work toward a somewhat symmetrical tree with branches becoming shorter near the top. Since the tree is genetically programmed to devote about 2/3 of it's energy to the top 1/3 of the plant, you can prune that (the top) back harder. The whole tree is going to back-bud, so you'll have more pruning opportunities in a couple of weeks.

On the cut on the right, I *think* the branch you're describing is actually not as long as it looks on the photo. Branch B on the marked up photo is pretty long - should this be cut back? Branch 'B', on the right, is the branch I was describing. Branches are classified in orders. The trunk is the first order, branches off the trunk are second order, and branches off second order branches are tertiary or 3rd order branches. Branch B is a second order branch. Unless you feel in your gut that cutting it back so all that's left are the 2 second order branches is a mistake (think about the outline), that's what I would do.

One of the reasons we prune is to "chase" the foliage mass back closer to the trunk. It's much more eye appealing to have a full tree with short branches than a tree with long branches and foliage only at the ends of branches. So, look for opportunities to shorten branches near the top of the tree. One of the ways I do that is by focusing on the distal end of a branch then start following it with my eyes back toward the trunk. When I reach the point where there are only 2 branches of the next higher order left on the branch I'm following I prune immediately distal to the second branch. That's what I was describing for B originally.

Then, I start looking at the 2 branches I left, and do the same thing with those, and if there were branches of a higher order growing from those branches, I repeat.

Once your tree fills out, almost all of your pruning will be pinching or directional pruning, and what you'll be doing is filling holes in the canopy.

This ^^^ is a Chinese quince bonsai I care for for another person. The large leaf at the base of the higher order branch was growing on the larger branch, and gave rise in its axil to the thin, higher order branch. I'm sure I removed the large leaf after the image was taken so it would reduce the energy flow to the small branch, which reduces leaf size and internode length. But back to directional pruning. If I want to make the small branch turn toward a gap in the canopy where it will get its share of light, I prune back to the leaf growing in that direction. Left as is, the branch will grow in the general direction of the distal leaf, so down/left. Removing the distal leaf would turn the branch up/left. If you want exactness, there are several ways to shape the branch exactly as you like.

As is ^^^, the leader grows right. Move the pruning cut proximally to the next leaf/node and the leader grows left.

Al

"Bit confused with above posts. The original post is by Susie the ficus belongs to her. But looks like the photo Matt is using is the same ficus. Perhaps you are using this as your own learning experience which is fine but left me confused."

I was jusf trying to help out by diagraming Al's suggestions for the OP. Sometimes a map is better than written directions.

Matt: no problem.

Brilliant, thanks Al! That’s very useful - both the specific advice and general points. I’ve had another go at it today so will leave it there for now and see how it looks in a month or so...

Susie