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Hello everyone, it's my first topic here and my first bonsai experience. I got this Ficus ginseng nearly 2 years ago and it has been neglected for a long time; 6 months ago I started taking care of it and it started making a lot of new buds and branches. It was pruned in March and now you can see how it appears from the pictures.
I know it is quite a mess, there's a side without branches, the internodes are quite long, and I really have no ideas on how to proceed. I thought to remove the central branch, that has no leaves, and to wire the other 2 branches extending laterally, but I don't know if it's the right thing to do...

What do you think? Do you have any advice? There is a way to stimulate buds on the empty side?
Thank you all ^^"

Zephiros wrote: I thought to remove the central branch, that has no leaves, and to wire the other 2 branches extending laterally, but I don't know if it's the right thing to do..."

If there is a branch, or a branch tip, that has no leaves and appears to have died there is little reason to keep it. Ficus typically do not take well to deadwood (jin, shari) techniques. You can cut back dead branches to the last leaf or the main branch/trunk. With Ficus you do not need to leave more that a few millimeters of branch past the last live leaf. If you think there is a chance that new leaves might sprout on a barren branch you can wait 3 or so months and see, it can take awhile depending on the season, the conditions you provide and the health of the tree.

I would leave the live branches as they are, let some secondary branches grow and wire those to be more lateral. With such a chunky, tall trunk you need some height to the canopy. If you think my suggestions on styling are crap, look at pictures of Ficus ginseng on the internet and examine the styling of ones you feel are impressive. I'm not saying I'm right, you just couldn't pay me to work on this species of Ficus. I begrudgingly water the one my husband got for free.

Thank you very much for your reply, I've decided to remove the dead branch, and I'll try to make the most of the asymmetry of the plant for the style. I'll follow your advice and let the secondary branches grow to obtain a bigger canopy, and then I'll wire the new branches as you suggest.