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Ficus benjamina pruning

starfish3865starfish3865 Posts: 10
in Plants
Hi.  How hard can an indoor weeping fig be pruned, in order to encourage leaves to grow?

Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Can we have a photo of your plant please and can you also tell us when it was last re-potted, when it was last fed, how often you water it and how much light it gets.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • starfish3865starfish3865 Posts: 10



  • starfish3865starfish3865 Posts: 10
    It's next to a patio door and window, hasn't been repotted since I got it off of Freecycle about ten years ago, hasn't been fed much this year but last time was about a week ago and it is watered weekly.
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited August 2021
    It is starving!   It's also in a paltry amount of compost with enough space for 5 or 6" more depth in which it could be spreading its roots to find nutrients and moisture.

    Go and buy a bag of good John Innes no 3 loam based compost.  Take the plant and its paltry root ball out of that pot and make sure the drainage holes at the base are cleared and covered loosely with crocks to allow drainage.   If there are no holes, find a plastic pot big enough to go inside your ceramic pot.

    Put in about 4 inches of fresh compost then replace the root ball and surround it with more compost to fill the gaps between it and the sides.  Add some fresh compost at the top level to cover those bare roots at its base.

    Water well to make sure all the root ball and new compost are thoroughly wet but make sure it drains excess and don't let it sit in a puddle.

    It should produce new leaves within weeks.   Do not prune it until you see where new growth appears and where stems are definitely dead.

    Be kind to it and give an annual feed of fertiliser for leafy houseplants every spring.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • starfish3865starfish3865 Posts: 10
    Thank you.  I uncovered the upper roots because I read somewhere that was sometimes done, although I don't remember much else about it.
  • CostumedVoleCostumedVole Posts: 257
    Be prepared for it to suddenly drop all its leaves. They are very prone to shock. They will grow back.
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