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Sun, Feb 21, 10 at 0:01
| Moving next week from a large home with 18ft ceilings to a apartment with 8ft ceilings. I am taking my large ficus which will be too big for the apartment. I tried to sell it on Craigs List but now I am out of time. These photos (sorry for quality)show the size. It is about 12ft tall and 4-5ft wide. I have to really chop it.
I know this is a bonsai forum but I feel bonsai people understand more about pruning and how much a plant can tolerate. I have pruned this plant over the years but not like this.
Would appreciate any help, Thanks,
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| You have two choices - either cut it off just about anywhere you'd like and wait for new growth, or air layer it just about anywhere you'd like and wait for new roots. Then you'll have two plants instead of one. I personally would try the second one, however I might also first lop off the top quarter of the tree and try to root it in water for a friend. You have a lot of tree there, likely due to it's having been kept in that pot for some time (??) which Ficus thrive on, but the time comes for every tree when repotting is needed, and if you want to get it back into that pot, you'll at least need to cut back old woody and circling roots, but I wouldn't do that until ~ 2 months after the other pruning, etc. |
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| I would also cut back most long and leggy branches to just a few leaves, which will encourage more bushiness (if you'd like). You can do almost anything with a tree like that as long as it's getting tons of high light all day, and has a wide tray of stones and water underneath it for humidity (more effective than spraying), but never let the water get high enough to touch the pot bottom, so roots won't rot. |
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| Thanks, Larke. I plan to cut the branches back severely. After taking a closer look I realize its wider than I thought. I have root pruned it many times over the years to keep from potting up. I always pruned the branches at the same time. I didn't know to wait. Luckily it never seemed to bother it. Last time, about 5 yrs ago I took about 1/3 off the root mass. It is in an 16" pot and has been for the past 10 yrs. I can't go up any higher. Any pruning in the past was in Spring and the tree stayed outside all summer and always flourished. It has sentimental meaning to me and I don't want it to die. This time around I will have to cut it way back. Surprisingly, it has spent its life in that large, north window never getting direct sun. Thanks for your advice. Jane |
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- Posted by louise_shade 5 (My Page) on Tue, Feb 23, 10 at 16:41
| Jane - if you didn't cut your tree back yet, you could reask you're questions over on the houseplants forum. Al over there is exceptionally knowledgable about ficus trees and has helped me with mine. I am sure he will be able to answerr your questions. Louise |
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