Thank you so much! This is very helpful advice. I just need the courage to be able to cut! We are in the middle of summer now so I think now is the best time right? Thanks again!!

Yes - ideal.

Al

They are a tree, and like most trees they like their light from above. So keeping it indoors means pruning will be a recurrent need.

Hi there! Not sure how you fared with this tree, I realize this was posted quite a while ago. I currently have three flf trees. One that's grown around three feet this summer! I've potted up twice, and have noticed that it perks up tremendously once it's in a larger pot. It seems to support the growth much better than a smaller pot. I noticed that your pot is quite small for the size of your plant. Mine was about 1 meter in a 12 inch terra cotta pot and was leaning quite a bit. It's now almost 2 meters in a 16 or 18 inch tc pot and has straightened out with a bit of a naturally beautiful lean without the use of stakes. I'd try a larger pot if you haven't already!

Hi, S. When you pot up instead of repot, the improvement in vitality that is usually described as a growth spurt is actually an illustration of the limitations root congestion imposes on plants. IOW, the plant could have been growing as well (actually better than) as it did after the up-pot all along, if it had been repotted when the roots got to the point where congestion was limiting growth.

Plants can only grow as well as their genes allow them to grow. IOW, vigor is a genetic trait, and it's up to the grower to help the plant realize as much of it's potential vigor as possible by eliminating limitations. Potting up only partially eliminates some of the limitation imposed by root congestion. That it only partially removes a limitation ensures the limitation will always be affecting the plant - forever, unless the root congestion in the original root mass is corrected by the hands of the grower. A full repot, which includes root pruning, completely eliminates the limitations imposed by root congestion and allows the plant to grow much closer to its genetic potential.

If I wanted to maximize vitality and allow a plant its best opportunity to realize it's genetic potential, I'd pot it in a very large pot (like you suggested) and make sure I used a soil that supports no perched water ...... or utilize a plan that removes all or most of the perched water the soil is capable of holding.

..... hope you're having a good weekend.

Al

Hi Al, your insights are always welcome! I should have been more clear in my first post- the first time I did a full repot with root pruning. The second time was just potting up. I wasn't repotting or potting up due to any issues with the plant, other than that the wind was actually blowing it over (I've been keeping them outside for the summer months here in New England) and it needed a wider base in comparison to the height of the plant to keep it from falling over. My realization that it seemed to stand up straighter was just a byproduct of switching to bigger sized pots, and I thought I'd throw that out there as a suggestion. The tree I'm speaking of has been growing three leaves at a time weekly this growing season regardless of which pot it is in. It loves the medium it has and the terra cotta pots that it's been in. It's not a definitive solution to the op's issue, and I know the conditions my plants are growing in aren't the same as op's. All speculation. But I thought it was worth noting just in case!

Hope you're enjoying Labor Day weekend as well!