due to extreme stresses.. i wouldnt bother ....

what you should contemplate is propagatin some smaller pieces.. and then just being done with the old momma ...

or perhaps.. after a good cut back.. \she will regrow back into a better shape ....

the smaller 6 inch growth in the second pic.. is showing you that everything past those could be lopped off .. and with no insult to the root mass.. you might be surprised how fast it regrows ... and.. if you cut it off.. presto... you have propagation material ... go figure ...

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=rubber+plant+propagation&t=ffcm&iax=videos&ia=videos

ken

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

Since the bad news isn't all that bad, I'll give you the good news. A) When the time is right, it's going to be really easy to cut your plant back, which B) will allow you to be rid of the rigging you're using for support, and C) you already have branches in place to cut back to. D) If you want to separate one or more trunks from what a bonsai practitioner would call a 'clump' or 'grove' planting, it will also be very easy if the part you intend to separate has roots attached. And, if there are roots attached, you should be able to be close to 100% sure of a successful operation. You'll find, though, that you aren't going to need to cut back if eye appeal is your concern. You'll end up with a very attractive composition.

Now, the bad news is so bad it almost scares Chuck Norris. Just kidding, it's not too bad at all. If you wait until next June to do the work, we'll talk about a plan if you're interested, you'll be richly rewarded for your patience. Your tree varies in strength throughout the growth cycle. It's reserve energy supply is currently declining and will continue to do so until April, reason being, the shortening days and diminishing light intensity. Somewhere in the neighborhood of Father's Day or the Summer Solstice, your plant should be peaking both in it's level of stored energy and its current ability to make food. A tree's food is the glucose/ sugar/ carbohydrate it makes during photosynthesis. Longer days and brighter light = more light energy striking the leaves = more food production. Trees full of stored energy and currently at peak production of photosynthate/ food respond with a whole lot more enthusiasm when chopped back or repotted than trees just getting by.

Also, if you prune now, ALL growth the plant puts on between now and Memorial day will be somewhere between somewhat to very leggy, and you don't want to save that growth. If you cut it back in June, all growth (until fall) will be quite compact, which is what you do want, especially when the tree back-buds as energetically as F elastica. The idea is to remove the long growth in early June, wait for 2 leaves to grow on each branch, and, when the 3rd leaf is about to open, pinch (prune) the branch back to 2 leaves. This is the formula for rapid ramification, which translates to leaf and branch density. So, prune in June, then pinch branches for the rest of the summer, then allow the plant to grow unencumbered by pruning all through late fall, winter, and early spring, repeating the cycle every year.

If I want to split this one trunk from the rest of the plant, what would be the best way to do so? Should it be done at the root? Yes, at the roots. Be sure any trunk(s) you're removing has/have roots attached. If not, I can help you make roots grow so you can separate the trunk next year. The process is called layering and I use it all the time to layer trees off of their own ugly root system and force them to grow new roots. The tree you see below has been layered off of it's old roots, which were cut off just below the wire used as a tourniquet, which is still attached.

Al