Conventional "wisdom" is that it is unnecessary and counterproductive to remove top growth when transplanting from a pot to the ground. That is all well and good in that particular application because the plant will already have balanced the root mass to the shoot mass. Try digging up a tree the size of yours from the landscape in summer and transplanting it w/o pruning the top back hard and see what happens. Odds are very high that the tree will collapse or at a minimum randomly shed branches that might be important to the composition.

What I'm saying is, it's a judgement call. I've done full repots on thousands of trees and often feel it necessary to prune the top after a hard root-pruning. Surprisingly, this really doesn't set the plant back due to the fact a repotted tree will add much more mass by summer's end that the same tree only potted up or left to languish under root-bound conditions.

If you aren't seeing any wilting of existing foliage, there is no reason to feel it necessary to prune; however, you're running out of room to develop a canopy w/o pruning your tree back. I would suggest that you maintain your tree so the max ht is no higher than the top of your windows. If that ht is 9 ft, you would need to prune your tree back to somewhere between 4.5-6 ft (i/2 to 2/3 of the trees ht, measured from the floor). This is how much room you'll need to develop the top. I should mention that now is not a good time to make that pruning cut (if you live in the Northern Hemisphere). Reason: The tree will put on all lanky growth from about now until around May's end. You should get into a pruning schedule that has you pruning off the lanky growth with long internodes every June, then pinch branches all summer long. As they start to open the 3rd leaf on each branch, pinch it back to 2 leaves or 2 nodes. This will force new branching from the axils of both of the remaining leaves.

See 2 new branches forming in axils of both of these leaves after pinching the apex from this rooted ficus cutting. When these 2 new branches are about to open the 3rd leaf on each branch, they get pinches, which will produce 4 branches, then 8, then 16, 32, 64, 128 ..... .

Thoughts?

Al

Thanks for the response, Al, it helps a lot. I've saved + read many of your posts many times over and model much of my container culture on your teachings--thanks so much for your time and sharing. A few detailed followups, hope they help others too--

Pruning: What I think I'm understanding is that as long as I don't see major wilt, or leaves starting to yellow/brown, I'm safe to avoid prompt pruning or defoliating. If I do begin to see some wilt or browning, I might consider pruning or defoliating in order to guide the process of the plant balancing top/root growth. If I must prune or defoliate, my instinct, given that days are shortening rather than lengthening, is to remove some of the bottom leaves first--does this seem reasonable?

Recovery/Balance: Normally the lyrata sits directly in a southeast facing window and gets tons of direct sun--I plan to keep the plant in bright shade for a week or two to recover from repotting up, but mostly because I've read it rather than intuition. I assume the period out of direct light is to minimize transpiration-induced desiccation until the roots recover from any shock and spit out some fresh hairs to compensate for losses. Concurrently, I don't wonder if more photosynthetic activity might support faster recovery, especially given the season, since I can water every day if I need to, so access to water isn't as limiting as root mass to absorb it. I don't have much personal experience root pruning/recovering, really appreciate any guidance on the balance.

Habit: I inspected my lyrata for the longer lankier internodes and clearly observe them--the June pruning schedule makes sense to foster a tighter habit. Does the 2-leaf suggestion apply equally to lyrata as other smaller-leaf ficus? I haven't seen any pictures of lyrata with heavily branched canopy, it seems a little tight in my mind--a 12 branch indoor lyrata sounds neat but I can't visualize it.

Ficus in General: This lyrata is about 5.5' tall from the floor and starting to flop slightly at the top; we've got 12' windows. I want to let it grow to about 7' and top it back to 6' to develop some canopy. I wish the top wasn't floppy, I figure it's a mix of new growth + height + lack of mechanical stimulation to thicken. I do not wish to stake this tree and hope that shaking it vigorously a few times a week after the roots set will help thicken the stem. I understand some ficus are hemiepiphytic and appreciate support but I'd rather to encourage a thicker stem--I have a couple smaller ficus I'd like to train straight+thick while small too. Certainly pruning off the floppy top would solve this problem; if there are other techniques I'm very interested!

Last year I rescued a "bonsai" benjamina which languished for several years in a small glazed container filled with peat and no drainage hole. In March I bare rooted it and repotted/potted up into some 511. To encourage vigor I lightly pruned and supported growth with 1/4 strength fertilizer at every watering. I would like to encourage back budding on a few extremely lanky branches, using this plant to learn more about pruning/shaping. It seems like maybe a bit before June would also be the best time for this so the new buds grow in tightly, right? I can easily visualize training the benjamina into many many tight branches, I'm really looking forward to learning from the plant on this rehab project.

Okay and LAST question while I've got the pro--how do you deal with all the extra flush water after watering?! I love how my plants are responding to 511, I do not love emptying 100 plant saucers 1-2 times a week. I'm considering a wet/dry vac but if there is some alternative... it's my least favorite part of container culture by far.

Sincerely appreciate you and your efforts to nurture plants and people both--thanks for the help Al!

the much shorter answer is.. you stressed the beegeebees out of it.. so why not give it a few months to get over that .. before you heap on another stress ... eh???

and in the mean time.. figure out how to propagate what you cut off .. this one is going to be on the ceiling in a few years.. so start some small plants.. so you can dump the huge one.. and have its replacement all ready to go ...

ken

ps: the canopy is a fail safe of stored energy.. in case you did a severe root pruning job ... the plant can sacrifice some of the leaves should it need an interim energy source ... so leave it there. in case its needed ...

Thanks Ken! I'm with you 100% there, definitely stressed it and removed more roots than I would've preferred in the bare-rooting process and stressed the beegeebees out of it, and know it needs recovery time. I'm not confident in what optimal recovery support to provide. Conflicting materials suggest varied interventions--aggressive top pruning to avoid later leaf/branch drop, allowing plant to recover away from direct light until new growth is visible, or doing nothing at all and just shoving it back in the window after root pruning. Mostly seeking advice on what "give it a few months to get over that" specifically looks like from sources more trustworthy than stock plant blogs, appreciate your advice and time, thank you!

Thanks and appreciation for the kind words, IP!

If I must prune or defoliate, my instinct, given that days are shortening rather than lengthening, is to remove some of the bottom leaves first--does this seem reasonable? A couple of notes so you can tell where I'm coming from:Every leaf is an individual food factory in which the plant's true food (simple sugar) is synthesized during photosynthesis. Your plant is very apically dominant, which means it's genetically programmed to spend about 2/3 of the food/energy it creates in the top 1/3 of the tree; so, the top grows quite fast compared to the lower leaves and branches. Leaves and branches along the lower part of the trunk contribute significantly to the strength/ thickness of the lower trunk. This helps to make the trunk strong enough to resist laying over (bending - so it needs staking). Shortening the trunk has the same effect as shortening a stick that when long, bends easily. When shortened, it's much more difficult to bend. So, if you have to prune, the top is the place to do it. The good news is, if it isn't wilting in the day or two after repotting, you're not likely to encounter issues.

I don't wonder if more photosynthetic activity might support faster recovery, especially given the season, since I can water every day if I need to, so access to water isn't as limiting as root mass to absorb it. I don't have much personal experience root pruning/recovering, really appreciate any guidance on the balance. If you don't see any wilting within 48 hours, you can move it back to where it was. It's good that you understand the balancing of the root to shoot ratio. The balancing is going to be done no matter what - whether you do it or the plant. In cases where the rootwork was more severe than what it sound like you did, it's better if the grower decides what leaves and/or branches will be shed, as some branches are often much more important to the o/a composition. A grow medium about as damp as a well wrung out sponge is best for water uptake, so please don't think you can force more water uptake by keeping the medium wetter.

Does the 2-leaf suggestion apply equally to lyrata as other smaller-leaf ficus? Yes

I haven't seen any pictures of lyrata with heavily branched canopy, it seems a little tight in my mind--a 12 branch indoor lyrata sounds neat but I can't visualize it.Try this link.

I wish the top wasn't floppy, I figure it's a mix of new growth + height + lack of mechanical stimulation to thicken. Very good observations!

I do not wish to stake this tree and hope that shaking it vigorously a few times a week after the roots set will help thicken the stem. You can flex the stemwhenever you think about it to stimulate lignin production. Lignin makes wood woody and strong. Or, you can brush the stem with a stiff brush regularly, which stimulates formation of ethylene (a growth regulator/ hormone) which stimulates thickening of the stem.

I understand some ficus are hemiepiphytic and appreciate support but I'd rather to encourage a thicker stem--I have a couple smaller ficus I'd like to train straight+thick while small too. Certainly pruning off the floppy top would solve this problem; if there are other techniques I'm very interested! Under low light conditions, pruning back at regular intervals is the best way to ensure a self-supporting trunk that won't lay over. Thickening of the trunk, at any given point along the trunk, is the product of what is growing above that point. The more leaves and branches you have on the entire tree, the faster the trunk will thicken. If it doesn't thicken fast enough to be self-supporting, the top gets pruned back and regrown ...... because the top of the tree is going to get 2/3 of the tree's energy w/o you having to do anything other than restrain it (the top) if it is in full outdoor sun. If you don't restrain it, you'll start to lose lower branches and interior foliage due to A) lack of light/ the top hogging the lion's share of the energy - something to think about later.

The tree with the big white scar was about 9' tall when chopped back.

Same tree 3 years later ^^^

Last summer ^^^^

Of course that chop was made for a different reason, to produce a rapidly tapering trunk. Your pruning wouldn't be even close to that severe. BTW - if you're pleased with a straight trunk and no branching, you can achieve that end, even after shortening the trunk.

It seems like maybe a bit before June would also be the best time for this so the new buds grow in tightly, right? I can easily visualize training the benjamina into many many tight branches, I'm really looking forward to learning from the plant on this rehab project. Yes, June would be the best time to hard prune it, though it wouldn't hurt to remove some of the unnecessary branches now. Your tree is a Ficus microcarpa and it's leaves are a bit thicker and more 'leathery' than benjamina. It's a good tree to learn on because it's a strong back-budder when healthy.

Another microcarpa:

Pruned very hard in June ^^^

Early to mid-August (6-8 wks later)

Pruned again and wired, same day.

How do you deal with all the extra flush water after watering? All plants are outdoors in summer, so no problem. In winter, I raise the plants above their collection saucers

so the effluent has no pathway back into the grow medium. I allow the water to remain in the saucer where it evaporates and reduces the amount of energy it takes to keep humidity in the grow area up around 55%. For most collection saucers I use sturdy but disposable plastic dinner plates. Fortunately, all my plants are in the basement under lights, so I don't have any concern about how tacky the collection 'saucers' would look in the living areas of our home.

You might be able to make a simple device that allows you to use any vacuum cleaner to such water from the collection saucers. It would require a large jar with 1 long flexible tube through the top but extending into the jar for an inch or more. Another tube/hose would be fitted so one end goes barely through the top of the jar, the other end being connected to your vacuum. When suction is applied, water would run through your collection hose, drop into the bottom of the jar where it could not be sucked into the tube connected to the vacuum.

Al