Like most plants in the Ericaceae family, Pieris japonica can be hard pruned....down to just a few inches above ground........and will regenerate nicely. But it will look pretty bad during the regeneration process, which may take several years for the plant to start producing healthy grow and filling in. That may not be the look you want to tolerate for several seasons if this planting is gracing an entryway, as yours appears to be doing :-) Timing is not all that critical but is best done when plant is in active growth rather than winter dormancy. Enjoy the flowers first, then cut it back.

" But plums don't need much pruning anyway. Is there a reason you feel yours needs it? " Over twenty five years since it was planted the tree never stopped developing new growth. Going straight up suckers, little branches growing in all directions criss-crossing with bigger branches and each other, bigger branches growing bigger still. I usually removed growing up suckers. A particularly heavy snow one winter broke one of the biggest branches, and unusually heavy load of fruit a few years ago broke another. What remains is a thicket of criss-crossing branches on one side of the tree only. I opened the tree already several weeks ago by cutting everything what was going down, up, and in-between, but would like to cut a few more little branches. Hence my original question.

I just chopped off half the growth of a 1-meter tall Mexicola Grande because it wasn't branching. I did the same thing six weeks ago to a Fuerte of the same height, and it is exploding with branches all over the place. I read a research article yesterday that was comparing top-pruning 8-year-old Hass and Fuerte trees at 4 meters and 6 meters, and the 6 meter height gave much better yields over several years. Another research article was talking about selective pruning of fruiting branches in the spring to reduce the fruit load so that you can get a fruit load on alternating years. The research has convinced me to do that eventually to my Fuerte, which is famous for needing rest years. You don't prune the whole branch, but choose several main fruiting branches per year and cut the flowering tips off of the others. The next year, you prune the previous year's fruiting branches to stimulate production of new growth, which is where the flowering for the next season will occur. You have to do this in the spring to give the tree time to establish new growth to the maturity necessary for it to differentiate into fruit wood. What concepts regarding raising your trees are you most interesting in exploring these days?

Thanks and appreciation for the kind words, IP! If I must prune or defoliate, my instinct, given that days are shortening rather than lengthening, is to remove some of the bottom leaves first--does this seem reasonable? A couple of notes so you can tell where I'm coming from:Every leaf is an individual food factory in which the plant's true food (simple sugar) is synthesized during photosynthesis. Your plant is very apically dominant, which means it's genetically programmed to spend about 2/3 of the food/energy it creates in the top 1/3 of the tree; so, the top grows quite fast compared to the lower leaves and branches. Leaves and branches along the lower part of the trunk contribute significantly to the strength/ thickness of the lower trunk. This helps to make the trunk strong enough to resist laying over (bending - so it needs staking). Shortening the trunk has the same effect as shortening a stick that when long, bends easily. When shortened, it's much more difficult to bend. So, if you have to prune, the top is the place to do it. The good news is, if it isn't wilting in the day or two after repotting, you're not likely to encounter issues. I don't wonder if more photosynthetic activity might support faster recovery, especially given the season, since I can water every day if I need to, so access to water isn't as limiting as root mass to absorb it. I don't have much personal experience root pruning/recovering, really appreciate any guidance on the balance. If you don't see any wilting within 48 hours, you can move it back to where it was. It's good that you understand the balancing of the root to shoot ratio. The balancing is going to be done no matter what - whether you do it or the plant. In cases where the rootwork was more severe than what it sound like you did, it's better if the grower decides what leaves and/or branches will be shed, as some branches are often much more important to the o/a composition. A grow medium about as damp as a well wrung out sponge is best for water uptake, so please don't think you can force more water uptake by keeping the medium wetter. Does the 2-leaf suggestion apply equally to lyrata as other smaller-leaf ficus? Yes I haven't seen any pictures of lyrata with heavily branched canopy, it seems a little tight in my mind--a 12 branch indoor lyrata sounds neat but I can't visualize it.Try this link. I wish the top wasn't floppy, I figure it's a mix of new growth + height + lack of mechanical stimulation to thicken. Very good observations! I do not wish to stake this tree and hope that shaking it vigorously a few times a week after the roots set will help thicken the stem. You can flex the stemwhenever you think about it to stimulate lignin production. Lignin makes wood woody and strong. Or, you can brush the stem with a stiff brush regularly, which stimulates formation of ethylene (a growth regulator/ hormone) which stimulates thickening of the stem. I understand some ficus are hemiepiphytic and appreciate support but I'd rather to encourage a thicker stem--I have a couple smaller ficus I'd like to train straight+thick while small too. Certainly pruning off the floppy top would solve this problem; if there are other techniques I'm very interested! Under low light conditions, pruning back at regular intervals is the best way to ensure a self-supporting trunk that won't lay over. Thickening of the trunk, at any given point along the trunk, is the product of what is growing above that point. The more leaves and branches you have on the entire tree, the faster the trunk will thicken. If it doesn't thicken fast enough to be self-supporting, the top gets pruned back and regrown ...... because the top of the tree is going to get 2/3 of the tree's energy w/o you having to do anything other than restrain it (the top) if it is in full outdoor sun. If you don't restrain it, you'll start to lose lower branches and interior foliage due to A) lack of light/ the top hogging the lion's share of the energy - something to think about later. The tree with the big white scar was about 9' tall when chopped back. Same tree 3 years later ^^^ Last summer ^^^^ Of course that chop was made for a different reason, to produce a rapidly tapering trunk. Your pruning wouldn't be even close to that severe. BTW - if you're pleased with a straight trunk and no branching, you can achieve that end, even after shortening the trunk. It seems like maybe a bit before June would also be the best time for this so the new buds grow in tightly, right? I can easily visualize training the benjamina into many many tight branches, I'm really looking forward to learning from the plant on this rehab project. Yes, June would be the best time to hard prune it, though it wouldn't hurt to remove some of the unnecessary branches now. Your tree is a Ficus microcarpa and it's leaves are a bit thicker and more 'leathery' than benjamina. It's a good tree to learn on because it's a strong back-budder when healthy. Another microcarpa: Pruned very hard in June ^^^ Early to mid-August (6-8 wks later) Pruned again and wired, same day. How do you deal with all the extra flush water after watering? All plants are outdoors in summer, so no problem. In winter, I raise the plants above their collection saucers so the effluent has no pathway back into the grow medium. I allow the water to remain in the saucer where it evaporates and reduces the amount of energy it takes to keep humidity in the grow area up around 55%. For most collection saucers I use sturdy but disposable plastic dinner plates. Fortunately, all my plants are in the basement under lights, so I don't have any concern about how tacky the collection 'saucers' would look in the living areas of our home. You might be able to make a simple device that allows you to use any vacuum cleaner to such water from the collection saucers. It would require a large jar with 1 long flexible tube through the top but extending into the jar for an inch or more. Another tube/hose would be fitted so one end goes barely through the top of the jar, the other end being connected to your vacuum. When suction is applied, water would run through your collection hose, drop into the bottom of the jar where it could not be sucked into the tube connected to the vacuum. Al