In the true gritty mix, you probably won't need a wick.

What size pot is it currently in? Depending on how much of the root mass you prune, it could probably go into a similar sized pot.

Was it growing outdoors? If not, a lot of those leaves may scorch and fall due to the intense light and lack of acclimation.

Have any pics of the other side?

id personally cut the top back pretty hard to force it to hopefully backbud lower on the trunk. You'll definitely want to leave some growth though.

I'm sure Al will be by soon to give you more advice.

Nice find! Gonna be a good amount of work getting it into shape, but if you're up for the task and patent, I think it's do able.

Got it about direct sunlight - will seek shade or filtered sunlight - thoughts about leaving it outside with rain coming this weekend (until I'm able to repot next week)? Could be a good way to flush. Or I can put it under the eaves so it doesn't get rained on AND is out of the sun.

Would you fertilize with 9-3-6 prior to report in order to give the roots a boost?

Yeah a good flush isn't a bad idea.

Personally, if you're going to repot in a week, I'd hold off on fertilizing until after the repot (about two weeks after the repot or when you start to see a flush of new growth.

yes! I'll send a picture of foliage a couple weeks after repot before pruning. Thanks for the insight fellas.

Brahms

Listen to what Dave said please. You could choose gritty mix or 5.1.1 mix, either will be good (gritty may drain faster); and definitely leave it outside. Some rain will be great for the tree.

May I ask you to add your general location next to your name please.

The new pot does need drainage though...

Just noticed the thread - it's actually a really nice tree with lots of promise. Once you get it straightened out, and I'm not referring to the trunk, you'll be well pleased with your find. The plant has a naturally pendulous growth habit, so if the plant leans and weeps - make it a feature. It looks so interesting on the pile in that position that I'd consider accenting the leaning/weeping trunkline when it's positioned in the pot after repotting - hard to tell from a 2D picture. As a bonsai practitioner, I can tell you I'd gladly drive 100 miles to acquire the tree.

Don't prune anything green or any living branches yet. Flush thoroughly & fertilize right away. I'd probably set it on the ground in open or dappled shade, unless you have reason to think it'll take full sun. Use a wick that contacts the soil or partially bury the pot so it drains well. It should respond quickly (within 2 wks) by back-budding.

Repot in 2-3 weeks. Roots are likely a nightmare, based on its size, so I'd probably saw the bottom third of the roots off & prune a few heavy roots that are obvious problems, removing as much soil as you can get to, and repot into a good soil - the trees been waiting for one long enough. ;-) Make sure you work the soil into open pockets in roots with a wood dowel or equal, and keep the roots WET all the while you're working them. Back in open shade out of wind after the repot until it's pushing new growth, then into full sun.

Where do your live (near/in what large city we'd be familiar with)? I'm jealous.

Al

I'd also add that with the root pruning and the complete soil change (hopefully to something with a larger particle size) it won't be held as tight in it pot until the root recolonize. You'll want to support it somehow from the wind. You won't want to come out one day and find it completely blow out of its soil and pot.

This is what I did when I put this ficus in fresh soil.

Funny, Anthony removed his post where he was doing his best to insult / be annoying / have no purpose on this site and now it looks like I was talking to myself.

Dave

His thread seems to disappeared...good, I hope the mods finally stepped in.

I hope that OP Brahms didn't get scared away by the troll and comes back.

I've just started reporting all the trolling posts as inappropriate. Hopefully if more people do that and less people engage, we won't have to read them much longer. I do appreciate that people provide correct info after bad advice is given, but otherwise, the most productive thing to do is report. Looks like it's working. Sorry to be off-topic. I look forward to more pictures of this tree!

Happy to say I've done everything Al and Dave mentioned so far. Just bought a 22" pot yesterday and am ready to move the plant. I got a big pot (same diameter as current pot) because I want to see what she can do. But now I have a problem. The tree itself probably weighs 80 pounds (just a guess) and the pot without soil weighs 50 pounds. This is a rhetorical question - How will i move it outside to water? Has anybody built a drip pan with a hose adapted drain plug so moving is unnecessary? Sounds crazy. I'm in Maine.

Thanks all for sanitizing the forum. I was wondering how things were rapidly changing for the good.

Brahms - check out drip pan for water heaters. The plastic ones come with a drain attachment doodad. I use one under an el-cheapo tile saw and thought you may like the idea too for your crazy big house plant. I am jealous too of your find.

So after the plant has recovered from the root prune, is it better to let it get used to direct sun before or after cutting the top?

Let's see how it looks.

Al

Yes! Let's..............

It's slung up against the house. Amazed it survived all the hacking, but I have at least three related problems.

1. the soil is still too heavy at 60% perlite - I was unable to cover the container and it got drenched and now there's a prominent gnat issue.

2. I don't know where I'm going to put it when the temperature dips - it's very tall and full of gnats

3. How to tilt the container for a faster dry when it's so top heavy and the root mass is small relative to the size of the container

Is it common for healthy looking roots to poke out of the top of the soil? Hadn't seen that before.

Did you just use 60% perlite with standard potting soil as the other 40%?

where are you located? That should give an idea of how much time you have before it needs to come in.

Tilting the pot at a 45 degree angle right after watering (for about 10-15 mins) will help drain perched water from the mix.

Where do you plan to keep it inside for the winter? I hope you have some tall ceilings and lots of Windows.

I can't tell from the pic, but has it started putting out new growth? Any back budding going on lower on the trunk?

60% perlite and you still have gnat issues? Quite surprising. Do you have compost in the soil? You can crush some mosquito dunks and mix it the top inch of the soil surface to take care of the immediate problem. They should be gone in a few days.

One idea to shorten the height would be to bend the top branches down in a U shape of some sorts. They look kind of too thick to bend. But you may be still be able to bend to some extent. You may still have to chop some.

Interesting project.

I agree. There has to be something extremely water retentive in the mix.

I leave my ficus in the 5:1:1 mix outside uncovered even if it rains three days straight. No gnats or any issues and the soil is dry and ready to be watered a day, two at the most later.

Mine is in an 18" terra cotta pot in full sun.

The soil type, pot type and full sun make for a great combination. I have to fully water every other day when we get no rain.

That said, it makes me really curious what mix the OP's tree is in.

I'd change the planting angle so the trunk exits the soil at a 45* angle or less.

Al

Great call on the dunks. I think some soil bags just come with a side of gnats free of charge. I re-positioned as suggested. It will make everything better when I bring inside in two weeks. The roots had exploded - so healthy - after that aggressive prune. Thanks to this discussion and the many others on gardenweb.

I'll post photos next spring/summer. Love this tree - think about how many Christmas lights it will hold. Can anybody suggest specifications for an appropriate winter light?

If you must put lights on it, I'd probably choose LEDs as they wont get as warm and possibly dry out the folliage.

Sorry for confusing the issue - I wasn't asking about Christmas lights. What should I look for in a grow light?

Ah! I was confused as you mentioned Christmas lights right before. Ha

something easy and cheap such as 3-4 four foot double fluorescent shop lights should get you by.

Get bulbs in the 5000k to 6500k range.

The shop lights would be about $12 each and the bulbs should only be a few dollars.

I think 3 of those fixtures would work for your tree.

1000w metal halide are a good option but for a setup light that it would be $100's.

With such a tall plant, you would need to figure how to provide light to lower parts of the plant too. Unless, of course you are happy with growth near the top. I am assuming you are planning to hang the lights on top of the plant. The upper foliage will shade the lower parts and fluorescents, CFLs, LEDs do not reach far enough unless you have lots of them. I think the rule of thumb is about 25-50W of lights per sq ft depending on what you are using.

I agree. However, the folliage in that tree is pretty thin so light should get through.

Some clamp on work lights with CFL's positioned for the lower parts would work fine.

My 7' ficus grew fine last winter with 5 clamp on work lights overhead. Each had a 55w (250w equivalent) 5500 CFL bulb.

This year I'm going with 5 four foot double fluorescent fixtures overhead.

I think this is too big for the house, it would never look good unless you have a sunroom. I would overwinter it next to a winow,and chop it back next early summer.

Get a bigger pot. Fill the bottom with ballast (but let's talk about that before you do anything). Tip the tree to take full advantage of it's weeping tendency. The trunk should come out of the soil at a 30-45* angle.

Al

Al, the stem is at about 45* from the soil since I re positioned it. Not sure if that is your suggestion... or... is it that the container (with the tree already leaving the soil at 45*) could be tilted to reduce the effective angle further? Any concerns about slinging the tree from the ceiling rather than using a ballast?

I only see the picture you posted on 8/18, that shows a plant rising vertically from the soil. I'm talking about making the tree lean in the pot at a 30-45* angle so the heavy branches appear pendulous. The tree is begging for that to occur. ;-)

The ballast wouldn't be used primarily as a counterweight, though you might need it to serve dual duty as such. I was talking about using ballast to reduce the amount of soil in the part of the pot that holds perched water, since you're concerned about soil saturation.

Al