Hi, Tammy - I think I noted not far upthread, that one of the first signs of a root bound tree is the lack of branch extension and loss of interior foliage. The 'tufted' look is so characteristic, that I eliminated a tree the owner expected to win the 'expert class' in a bonsai show I judged this summer, because I could tell the roots were very constricted, just by looking at the tree. When the condition is allowed to get particularly severe, roots wrapped around other roots can completely cut off the flow of water and nutrients to the upper parts of the tree. Trees are somewhat different from species to species in how tightly they adhere to the arrangement that root A feeds branch A, root B feeds branch B, and so on, so that when root A dies, branch A dies. All trees follow this connection to some degree, so it's normal for individual branches originally fed by roots that were later compromised by tight conditions to be shed for lack of the tree's ability to move water and nutrients through the compromised conductive roots. Ideally, we would correct the root issues during a full repot. The problem with that scenario is your tree sounds severely stressed and unlikely to be able to recover from such a drastic procedure for two reasons, the stressed and weakened condition being one, and the the other being that the timing is bad with the tree just going into winter. If you can be patient, I'm not at all concerned about the trees being lopsided. We can build a tree from whatever remains viable for the long term. My focus would remain fixed on getting the tree to a state of vitality that will allow us to start serious work on the tree w/o killing it. Because you just acquired the trees, there is probably no way for you to determine how badly the soluble salts situation is - how much is in the soil. Safest is to assume the salt level is higher than it should be and the soil should be flushed. This is pretty much a standard suggestion for struggling trees. It sort of 'resets' the level of nutritional reserves in the soil, flushing out all the excess soluble that we can't even guess at the concentrations of, and replacing them with a low dose of fertilizer. This ensures that the nutrients are available at a low level that won't interfere with water uptake. Let me know if you're good with: * Flushing the soil very thoroughly. Flush 5-10 times with room or ambient temperature water, using at least the volume of the container for each flush. * Cutting off the bottom 2-3 inches of the root mass and making deep vertical slits in the root mass at 3-4" intervals with a utility knife. * Potting up, using a soil very similar to the one your plant is in now, for now. (We can work around this if you'd rather not invest in such large pots. Let me know.) * Inserting a wick through the drain hole before you pot up. Ideally, you would melt another hole through the bottom near the side and insert the wick there. * After you water, tilt the container at a 45* angle with the wick down. The wick should dangle 2-3" below the container, and not touch the effluent (drained water). This will remove MUCH more water from the soil, and allow you to water copiously and flush the soil each time you water. You'll be flushing the fertilizer out of the soil, along with any accumulating salts, so plan on fertilizing with a half strength dose of 24-8-16 or 12-4-8 (both 3:1:2 ratios) about every 3-4 times you water. Don't worry - there is no danger of over-fertilizing if you can follow this plan. It's a very healthy way to approach nutrition management. It assures a low concentration of nutrients in the right ratio at all times, which is actually a very admirable goal for your nutritional plan no matter where your plants are in their growth cycle. * Keep your watering under control. Only water on an 'as needed' basis. Wait until the wick feels dry, or the soil is dry when you test it at the drain hole, or a sharpened dowel or skewer comes out clean and dry after you insert it deep into the roots. * Keep the plants in the best light you can provide, and try to keep soil temperatures above 65*, up to 80. * Guard against sunburn. If you think/know the trees were in low light, acclimate them to high light levels gradually - over a period of a week or two. You can read through this thread & see if you spot anything I might have missed, based on similar advice to others. To be honest, I've been talking to so many people about their Ficus trees over the last month or so (not just those from GW) that it's hard to remember everything. Be sure to raise any questions or concerns, and ask for clarification where/if needed. Take good care. Al

Personally I go "open center" with mine for purposes of light penetration and air circulation and head them off at roughly 8'. If you haven't pruned them at all I would start with height control and then move on to clearing the centers and crisscrossing branches and so on.

Are you kidding? Did you really pay $129 for that tree? If so, WHY??? Is it too late to ask for your money back? If you're stuck with the tree, I think one of the leaders must go, but the situation should have been taken care of long ago. If you do have to keep the tree and decide to remove one of the leaders, cut just outside the branch bark ridge and branch collar (if you find that one exists in this situation). It's hard to tell whether your tree will have a branch collar with the picture you posted. Many times a branch collar won't exist with a split leader like the one on your tree. The tree should still eventually cover over the wound, but it may take longer. I would remove the leader (the one that you decide to remove) in late winter or very early spring which is the ideal time for the tree to quickly cover over pruning wounds. Personally, I'd remove it near the end of this winter weather it was planted this year or before.

Not sure if I'm reading your reply right, but you want to dry out the soil the plant is in, NOT expose all the roots to dry... You can lift the whole thing out of its pot, with all the soil still on it ie. in the shape of the pot, and sit it on newspaper or a towel for a few hours to draw some of the excess moisture out, but don't let the roots dry in the air, the fine roots will die. Now that you know it's been too damp, you could see what happens if you let the soil dry much more in between waterings (not down to dust, just as I said previously). Then when you do water, water thoroughly so water come out the bottom, let it drain (your pot has holes, yes?), don't let it sit in water. Don't fertilise until it is growing. It will still need better soil at some stage, but repotting is an added stress, not always good while the plant is weak. It's a judgement call : is it strong enough to handle repotting now? Would it be better if you let it get more energy reserves first by giving it less water and more sun? Or is it a do-or-die situation? I'm suspecting the latter, and I'd probably repot it now, but I have limited experience. If you go ahead, you'll need to read about how to repot (you have to keep the roots moist the whole time you're washing the old soil off and getting it into the new mix). I'd still recommend making something like 511 for it.