I wouldn't prune it, I'd get a tall stake and stake the tree up making it taller. Don't repot until next spring, get the tree in a nice sunny window, and I'd losely tie it to either a bamboo pole or a garden stake to make it into a nice looking tree

Hmmm - interesting. Staking it. That may work! The reason I wanted to get it repotted is because the top of the root ball is exposed. I'm attaching a photo for reference.

It will probably end up living in my living room, which faces east and gets good morning/early afternoon sun.

Thanks for the suggestion!

I think you should make as your goal, getting the tree looking soo good your friend can't help but want it back. In order to do that, you should have a plan, and not go about trying to 'transform' the tree into something with definite eye appeal on a wing & a prayer.

First, I wouldn't repot the tree now. Repotting consists of as change of soil an d root work, and Sep is too late to be repotting a Ficus b in MI. I would thoroughly flush the soil, then add enough new soil to bring the soil level up to the root flare - where the trunks transition to roots. Rather than stake the plant, I would be looking for a branches that are growing off the trunks branches that compliment the existing trunk line and can act as new leaders. For now, I would only prune the bare minimum of branches you need to prune to get the plant to a manageable size. The hard pruning will be next Jun when you do a full repot. THAT's when the plant should really take off. Working the plant hard now will leave it weakened and struggling to recover from the work over the relatively dark days of winter, something that's not in the best interest of the plant.

Also, showing deference to the plant's natural rhythms and working the plant when it's healthy and during the part of the growth cycle when it's best able to tolerate the work, offers you an added measure of satisfaction for your nurturing efforts.

Al

Thanks, Al! I do have quite a few plants, so I understand what you mean about the growth cycle and everything. I just think this guy hasn't been repotted or had fresh soil in a while judging from the pot he's in, and so I thought at least repotting him now might be good. But I get what you mean - I normally do all of my repots in late May/early June here, so I'll hold off and just add fresh soil for now, along with flushing the plant.

I also understand what you mean about not going crazy with pruning - I'm not trying to necessarily reshape the tree, just getting it to a healthy size because I feel it is a little too scraggly now, if that makes sense. But I will wait until next spring to do anything severe. I'm also hoping that whatever I prune I can re-root, as I took some cuttings from this plant before it was given to me, and I got them to all successfully root.

Thanks so much for your expertise! I'll probably post a pic in the spring and ask you for your suggestions on where to prune specifically. :)

Where do you live in MI?

Al

Grand Rapids.