Most Ficus are conditioned to light levels under shade cloth for several weeks to lessen the effects of a probable reduction in photo-intensity before being sent to market. Air movement increases evaporative water loss through lenticels in the bark. When you increase air movement on the interior of the trees framework by pruning/thinning branch tips, the tree loses more water through the bark of interior branches. IN that water are nutrients and growth regulators from the roots (cytokinin) which stimulates budding in the tree's interior, budding that makes the tree look fuller and budding that allows you to prune the outer structure to green growth to help ensure the branch doesn't die back. The added light that is let in through pruning the outer canopy SUSTAINS the new interior growth. In very southerly climes, Ficus B can be chopped back to a stump and it will resprout. Here in MI, I wouldn't even attempt it with my healthiest tree, so geography plays a significant part in what you can get away with. In most cases, I wouldn't cut back a benjamina hard without leaving some green (foliage) on the branches I want to keep. The same goes for trees grown indoors where light levels are at very best only about 70% of what they are outdoors, with 40-60% being the usual range. You say the interior foliage will all be dropped anyway. This is true only if you don't thin the outer canopy. I sort of have a leg up on most who grow trees in pots, because I average 2-6 hours with my trees in the summer, and maybe an hour per day in the winter, so I'm intimately familiar with the effects of pruning, and can pretty reliably predict how a tree will respond to pruning just by looking at it. As a bonsai guy, I usually try to avoid pruning any interior branches - even those that seem to have gone astray. It's a pretty simple chore to wire them into a more favorable position. The best looking trees always have lots of foliage that grows on short branches. On developing trees, I often remove or cut the leaves on the top of trees in half (across venation) to slow the development of the top and force the tree to use energy on the lower branches. If I don't, lower branches predictably weaken and upper branches thicken - causing an unnatural looking imbalance. Trees grown in big pots don't respond differently than their counterparts in small pots, other than the fact they're easier to maintain in good health. If you remove all the interior foliage and let the branches elongate, what do you cut back to when you finally realize the tree has grown out of bounds? Ideally, you would cut back to something green, but to do that, you need to maintain those interior branches in good health - which means light needs to get to the interior ........ For Ficus, let your lower branches extend to about 5 leaves, then cut back to 3-4 leaves. At the top of the tree, let your branches get to 3-4 leaves and cut back to 1-2 leaves - and regularly remove (thin) the most vigorous (fattest) branches (selecting the ones that do the least to compliment the tree's appearance) to keep the top from getting too heavy (heavy = thick branches - you want the top to be twiggy). Al

What kind of soil is it in? Virtually all containerized houseplants need regular nutritional supplementation; so YES, you should have a good fertilizer on hand and have a strategy in place that includes regular fertilizing that is adjusted in relation to the changes in growth habit as the plant makes it's way through the growth cycle. No one can tell you how to fertilize w/o knowing something about your soil and your watering habits, because those factors determine how much you use and how often you use it. If I guessed you were just getting interested in learning how to best provide for your plants' cultural needs, would I be right? In most cases, the manner in which a person addresses the issues for which you seek guidance will depend on your level of experience. I use, as do many others, and highly recommend Dyna-Gro's Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 fertilizer. There are a number of reasons for this, and I can direct you to a thread that lays out those reasons if you have interest. Your plant probably shouldn't be fertilized until you see signs of new growth. My guess is, the soil has been kept overly wet, which accounts for a very high % of the problems for which folks eventually arrive here in search of resolution. Once all the leaves fall, the amount of water your plant uses will be minuscule, so make sure you do not over-water. If you don't know how to use a wooden dowel/skewer as a tell, and want to, just ask. Many folks here use or have used that method with good results. It doesn't lie and will tell you when your plant does/doesn't need water. Al

Plastic pot with holes on the side would certainly allow more air to get in quicker. I had done that once. I had to be more careful watering since some of the water will exit from the holes leaving less to reach the bottom and the core. If the soil dries out a bit too much it will shrink a bit and create an air space around the pot. So more water tends to escape through the holes when watering from the top. Dunking it in a tub of water is a lot safer.

In bonsai, grafts to old wood or dead wood are common and what you're describing. The name of the style is "Tanuki", a reference to a shape-shifting monster found only in Japan's folklore and not under beds. There IS a canine that makes Japan home and looks like a cross between a dog and a raccoon that is also referenced by the same moniker, but knowing what I know about bonsai, "Tanuki" references the shape shifter. Here in the USA and in Europe, it's more often called a Phoenix graft. You can certainly use the stump to make one if you like. They're easy to perform - not as easy to make them look natural. Most often they are made by carving an indentation in the host tree, then the live branch is trained to grow in the groove. In about an equal number of cases, the tree is either tied/zip-tied in place, or brass nails are driven through the living part into the deadwood. Don't over-drive the nails and mash your living branch, or you might get to meet Tanuki first hand. Careful - I didn't say "Place the tree in direct sun, "I said it WILL TAKE direct sun, but, keep it in open or dappled shade until it comes around". Your tree's energy reserves are very low, so you should avoid the potential for sunburn by keeping it in open/dappled shade. Open shade is is shade with open sky above it. In the N hemisphere, that would be shade on the N side of a building, fence, ......., just so the sky above is open. Open shade is brighter o/a than even dappled shade. To achieve it, You can press the tree against the trunk and wrap it tight with grafting tape, wet raffia, veterinarian wrap (what I use), jute/burlap ribbon. If you can salvage the leaves, include them in your composition. They will foster branches and help the trunk thicken and the graft 'take' much faster. Al