Normal result from a tip-pinch only, 1 or 2 new tips but no real reduction in upward mobility or increase in girth. Remove the lower leaves to encourage lower branches at the nodes where those leaves were attached. Practicing on Coleus is so fun because they grow so fast.

I haven't repotted, no. It's still in the pot from the nursery, which has drain holes. The surrounding grey pot in the picture is just a pot cover.

I watered him only when the top inch felt dry and gave him lots of indirect sunlight. However, in the past couple of days, I've noticed brown spots/speckles on the lower leaves and the stems. I have also been reading similar posts from other members and Al's explanations, so I'm assuming the problem is mainly due to overwatering, root rot and/or insects. I also am seeing the fiddle's roots on top of the soil so the best bet seems to be repotting. Having come to this conclusion, I am planning to repot the guy by following Al's famous gritty mix recipe. The brown specks on the leaves are likely oedema, which occurs when the plant's internal water pressure becomes high enough to break through cell walls. The cell's contents then burst and leak into intercellular spaces in the surrounding tissue, which causes a saturated spot that eventually turns corky. The elongated spots on stem structures are openings in the stem's young periderm (bark) called lenticels. Their job is to provide openings through which internal gasses can escape and oxygen from surrounding air can enter the plant's tissue, which requires this gas exchange to remain viable. There is one question, however, that I have not been able to find an answer to anywhere in the forums (or perhaps I'm not researching hard enough). When repotting, am I supposed to remove/cut off the affected leaves? No. A plant's only source of food/energy is the sugar it makes during photosynthesis (glucose). Since every leaf is a food factory, removing them leaves the plant very vulnerable - especially so if it has been growing under stress or strain, leaving it w/o enough energy reserves to push a new flush of foliage. None of my leaves have crispy brown tips, mostly brown speckles on the back of the leaves as well as all over the stems (petiole?). I have seen some people cut away parts of the affected leaves, but that doesn't seem like the best option for me as the speckles are not necessarily concentrated in specific areas. The lower leaves are also starting to droop. If I am not supposed to cut the affected leaves, do they eventually go back to "normal" and lose the spots after repotting and following the correct procedures? Animals are regenerative organisms and can "heal" by regenerating new tissues in the same spacial position as damaged tissued. Plants are not capable of doing that, so damage cannot heal. A blemished leaf will always have the blemishes until the leaf is no more. I guess what I ultimately want to know is, "how do I get rid of the spots?" Some trees are prolific back-budders, IOW, they form new branches from dormant buds above old (leaf) bundle scars and from adventitious buds that arise from the plant's meristematic tissues. Meristematic tissues have cells (STEM cells, thus meriSTEMatic) that are capable of differentiating into any of the plant's organs. You can get rid of spots by getting rid of leaves - by defoliating the entire tree in the summer and when the plant is in a very high state of vitality (has lots of stored energy); or, you can cut the plant back hard and train a new branch to a vertical orientation as the new leader. All the new leaves on the new branches that occur will be pristine, as long as you're able to provide cultural conditions that favor the tree. Your job, as grower, is to identify and eliminate those conditions that are limiting or have the potential to inhibit the plant's ability to realize its genetic potential. That's how I look at growing, and it's served me very well. You can start by making sure you're maintaining a healthy ratio of air:water in the root zone and are fertilizing regularly and appropriately. That air:water thing is by far the most prevalent stumbling block, usually related to a less than ideal soil choice, for most growers ..... and not just the new ones. And YES, you can still repot w/o having to worry about timing. I'd say you're good up until the middle of Aug, or maybe even the first of SEP if it was really important that you repot this year. Still, sooner is better. Al

To fix it, you'll need to let go of the idea that just because a tree has paid for the growth it's put on, there must be a law somewhere that says the growth is forever sacred, and therefore you commit a sacrilege if you even entertain the thought of removing a stick of it. Millions of growers willingly sacrifice the appearance of their indoor trees on the altar of growth, then fret because the trees have grown way out of bounds. It can't be had both ways. If you give your trees their head and allow them to grow as they will, you'll need to settle for ugly trees. If, on the other hand you take control over how your trees grow, you might end up tossing a fair share of growth, but end up with something special. A Ficus benjamina story in pictures:Ugly, yes, but there was a plan .....Several years later ^^^Same tree, same year, after defoliation ^^^Same tree, same year, ^^^ about 2-3 weeks after pruning/styling, 90% of the branches gone, leaves cut in half to slow growth. Another Ficus, this one a retusa:Pruned hard in June ^^^.... had grown back to this by August ^^^ Pruned a second time in same year and styled ^^^ You can see by the images that I simply use wild growth as a way to keep a tree extremely healthy so it has the stored energy to tolerate extreme work. If you can't stand cutting the long branches back hard to correct the lean (I can tell you how to do that), or removing the smaller trunk and changing the planting angle in the pot so the long side is about vertical, you might want to start a couple of air layers now. An air layer isn't "serious work" which should be undertaken in June where you live. I'll watch for your reply - no sense in getting too far ahead of myself. Al