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Hi,
I Don’t believe my first post went thru, so fingers crossed for this second try.

Never been one to prune my bonsai, but coming to the realization that it is a necessary part of the process.

Bought this little ficus about 2-3 years ago. I’ve neglected it and it has become quite leggy and leaves are getting pretty large. Not being a pruner, I’m very much a novice. Should I remove the long, leggy, scrawny branches down to the trunk or no? And should I remove all at once or just a few at a time?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Remy

It all depends on what you want to achieve. Ficus can take quite a lot of prunning in spring if you let it come outside in summer.

I would definitely look into what possibilities there are to get rid of as much of them thick bulges on the branch and trunk. In my opinion the biggest problem with this tree.

Nice little ficus.

Before you do anything to this plant however, make sure you get it back to full health. At the moment the plant is struggling, with only one or a few leaves per branch. Trimming now results in the tree potentially killing of that branch back to the trunk instead of budding.

Do you have it in a sunny spot? How do you care for it?

when I look at it, I tell myself that it must be against a wall, all the branches go in the same direction and I don't find that it is pushed much for 2 or 3 years
questions!!!
has it been repotted
Did he get fertilizer regularly?
for my part, I will repot it (akadama if possible) in a pot a little bigger, cut the roots which should not be very numerous and the pace will become a window

Thanks Tropfrog.

Ya, it has several spots that were repeatedly pruned prior to when I picked it up, that have developed into nobby/bulges. I've considered taking some of them down a bit. Probably will at some point. Maybe when I prune it back in spring.

Thanks again.

I already know what you're going to say, leatherback. Haha.

I keep this guy in the house. Its the only one I keep indoors. I might try to migrate it outdoors this growing season as my other ficuses are all outdoors.
It has grown fairly well in my home, next to a sunny (filtered) window. I water it once a week or less, usually let it stay on the drier side. I'm in Southern California so weather is never too extreme. However, we've had an exceptionally cold winter this year, which has probably not been favorable for this little ficus next to its window. It's had a lot of leaf drop in the last couple weeks, but most of the leaves are still hangin' on strong. It also has significant budding, so I'm hoping that's a good sign, but I will for sure heed your warning and not prune it for a while. I'll wait at least until I see it putting out some new growth, hopefully within a couple months.

Just so I know tho, when its doing better can I take a long leggy branch off beyond the leaves and expect it to still put out growth at that location, or will the branch die off? I'm unsure where exactly to cut and the guide doesn't explain that in detail. The guide says to cut back to 2 leaves when you have about 6-8, but what if you have branches this long?

As always, thank you for your advice.
Remy (clueless bonsaier)

Jojo,

I haven't been faithful with fertilizing; maybe once or twice a year, if that. And I've been thinking about repotting. I'll probably add those both to the list of things to do with it. Hoping it'll be healthier by spring time.

Yes, the leaves all lean/face the window where it sits. I try rotating every once in a while, but havent done that in a while either.

Thank you for the suggestions, Jojo.

Remy

WHat am I going to say then?

Once you have the tree growing well, and you get these shiny succulent extending branches, you can trim where you want. Best to, at that point, to clip all the growing tips off the whole plant: It will trigger backbudding all around.

Growingbonsai means trimming. This can be a bit worrysome when you just start off. Af you get more experience, you will learn to tell living from healthy and you will come to realize that trimming triggers growth -in healthy plants-

So, if I understand correctly it sounds like once it’s growing well I can trim whatever I want down to the trunk or whatever shape looks good to me. Then, taking the tips off will encourage the plant to continue more vigorous growth allover. That makes perfect sense. That’s where I’ll start then. So sad to have to wait as I am an impatient person, but this hobby helps me with that problem.
Thanks again leatherback.

And I was only joking about knowing what you were going to say. I'm not clairvoyant, I’ve just read a lot of your posts on here and I know your not a fan of keeping bonsai indoors, generally speaking.

Have a great day

we keep the tropical bonsai indoors only in winter in a room between 12° and 15° well lit if not outside from the end of May to mid October, can be avoided full sun in summer