Hi, Steve: It's in a 14" pot. It summers outside, and I bring it in for the winter to a first floor area that's around 55 degrees, low light. It's about 4-1/2 ' tall, top of dirt to tip of branch, with only leaves at the very ends of each of three main branches (much like fingers at the end of your arm) and one secondary offshoot branch. Another friend got a cutting at the same time I did from the same donor fig. Hers is in a smaller pot (maybe 10"), is much more compact, hasn't grown much at all, but she gets 10-12 figs a year, and it's a lovely looking plant. She does the same summer/winter thing that I do. I can barely drag the 14" pot in and out now, so I'm not thrilled with your suggestion to repot into something even bigger! I was hoping I could significantly lop it back maybe in December. I can see where the new growth started for each year, and I was thinking that would be the place to prune. It's very successfully rooted. If I over-prune it, do you think it just might send out some new shoots from the root system? Thanks again for your help. Susan

As a bonsai judge, I know a little about what to do to bring out the potential in the tree's shape. Technically, the bifurcations (forks) appear too high on the trunk for the tree to be an ideal multi-trunk specimen, which means you would need to reduce the tree to a single trunkline to get the best from the tree. No big deal if that's not something you want to do because you're not looking for a prize, just a more presentable tree. You might have made an error if you pruned out the center of the tree, which it looks like you did in the picture. The stem closest to the center, determined by an imaginary vertical line upward from where the trunk enters the soil, would be the logical leader. At this point, you should decide if you want it to be a single trunk (you'd need to remove 3 trunks) or a multi-trunked plant. As an option, you could fairly easily air layer off the top of the tree just below where the trunks all split. If you're going to leave it all tied up until the trunks are set in place, you need to reduce the ht of all the trunks to different hts. Generally, trees look better with 1, 2, 3, 5, or 7 trunks. 4 is not usually used, so I would remove 1 trunk, then shorten the other 3 so the thickest trunk is tallest, the thinnest trunk is 1/2 the ht of the tallest, and the trunk with medium thickness is 2/3 the ht of the tallest. What do you think? Al

HU, root pruning is a must when growing in a container as eventually the roots will start to circle and slow strangulation occurs eventually killing the plant. You can wait until after the ripening crop and watch the leaves for any change as in color or some dropping then wait until soil is fairly dry yet compact enough not to fall apart, tip container to side grab trunk and pull out. When root pruning you must top the canopy as well otherwise you risk plant dropping figs because to much canopy the pruned root system cannot support and plant will compensate by dropping figs thats mother nature helping its survival. Martin

Not all fit that mold, L.S.. Even the most patient of our members get prickly at times when faced with intentional annoyance, but most of us aren't prickly by nature. Welcome to the forums. There are a lot of knowledgeable folks here who would be happy to offer their input. If you plan on your tree being a single trunk specimen, a good rule of thumb is, consider the maximum ht at which you would like to maintain the tree, then sever the trunk at 2/3 of that ht. So, if you want the tree to be 6 ft tall when it matures, prune it back to 4 ft. If 5 ft (60"), prune it back to 40", etc. This formula allows for 2/3 trunk and 1/3 canopy. If you want your tree to be a multi-trunked planting, you will want the trunks to originate as close to the soil line as possible; so, for a multi-trunked specimen - prune the plant back so only the bottom 3 nodes are left. 'Nodes' are identifiable by the fact they will either have a leaf attached at the nodes, or there will be a scar where a leaf was formerly attached. Here (below) you see a Ficus benghalensis (Audrey) with a leaf scar facing you about a fourth of the way up from the bottom and suppressed (sort of dormant) buds above the scars. The scars, buds, and leaves appear at nodes. If you move your focus to the branch just up from the bottom of the image, you'll notice the unopened leaf bud at the end of the branch. Immediately behind that leaf is the branch apex, where extension growth occurs - the branch grows longer. A chemical is synthesized in that area, the apex, and it's job is to suppress buds (keep them from growing) below/ behind the apex. If you remove the apex or prune the branch (which also removes the apex) some of the buds will activate and new branches will grow in the crotch (axil) of the leaf. Here is a Ficus microcarpa cutting I pruned to force branches to grow in the crotch of each leaf: The small protrusions in the crotch of each leaf are the beginnings of new branches, forced to grow by removing the end of the branch used for the cutting. I'll leave you to think about what I said, but I'll keep an eye out for any questions you might have. I have many Ficus trees in pots, some of which are as old as 35 years, and most of which were grown from cuttings, which is an option for you as well. Al