"I want to encourage this tree to be more fuller, bushier on top, and not shoot out long, unruly branches. I am interested in "notching" the tree." Ramification is a term used to describe branch and leaf density. The best way to increase ramification is by regular pinching, but notching can be helpful in some cases. Timing of both procedures has a considerable impact on how how responsive the tree is to your ministrations. Auxin is a growth regular that moves in a polar flow (shoots to roots) in the plant, with one of its effects being inhibition of the bud breaks that result in lateral branching. Notching above an existing leaf or above a bundle scar (a scar in the periderm serving as evidence of where a leaf was once attached) creates a physical diversion of auxin produced above the notch (if you remove all tissues down to the xylem), primarily in apices and young leaves. When the flow of auxin is diverted around the latent bud, its suppressive effects are diminished or eliminated and the buds can become active. The technique is most effective when the tree has plenty of expendable energy reserves and energy/food-making ability is at or near peak levels - so June and July would be the best months to notch in almost all of the US. Pinching removes the source of auxin, rather than diverting it around latent buds, and is also most effective in the early to mid-summer months of June through July. Both of these techniques can work at any time of the year, but your plant will respond with the greatest measure of enthusiasm if you pay attention to its condition and natural rhythms. Pinching/pruning will serve you much better than notching, unless you have good reason not to pinch or prune, AND you have need to stimulate a branch to grow in a particular spot. If your tree was a species with smaller leaves, you'd be better served to thread or approach graft as a way to produce a branch in a key position than to rely on notching. Notching above an existing branch will not affect the branch or how it grows, so notching with the hope it will change the growth rate of an existing branch won't bear fruit. You can increase growth in a given branch by several methods - reducing the size of other branches on the tree, partially or fully defoliating other branches, through foliar applications of nutrients, or by training the branch tip to a vertical position and pruning the vertical part off after the desired amount of growth has occurred. You can also tip prune the branch you'd like to see enhanced growth in, and train the new branches that occur proximal to the pruning cut to a vertical position, then remove the vertical 'sacrifice' branches once the desired amount of growth has been achieved. "Also for fiddle leafs, are there buds on the main trunk or branches to notch above to encourage branch development? I can't seem to find any." There are latent (dormant) buds in all leaf axils (crotches) and immediately above all bundle scars, just waiting to receive stimuli that activates them. Favorable temps, lots of light, lots of air movement, nutrition in the adequate to luxury range, and a healthy root system all favor full and healthy growth. Adventitious buds can also form anywhere on trunk or branches with appropriate stimuli. Very often, complete defoliation of a very healthy tree in early summer results in buds breaking EVERYWHERE. See this smaller leafed species of Ficus: This ^^^ is after tip pruning and near total defoliation. This is about 5% of the foliage that existed on the tree (Ficus retusa) before pruning/wiring. This ^^^ is the same tree about a month subsequent to the first image. You can see the extreme adventitious back-budding that occurred. Moss experiments flanking the tree on both sides. "I was thinking I should wait until spring to start fertilizing with Foliage Pro?" You should be fertilizing regularly, but not all soils will allow regular fertilizing during fall/winter months w/o a plan that eliminates mineral salt accumulation in the soil (solution). If you have interest in digging deeper, just ask. Staking reduces trunk strength, more so in trees planted out because it inhibits flexing of the trunk, which stimulated lignin production. Lignin is the part of the wood that adds hardness and strength. Al

Hello! I'm quite the newbie for the most part when it comes to houseplants and found my way here after several google searches. I have two houseplants that I love but just aren't "happy". I have a feeling it's due to the soil and light but was wondering if there is anything else that might be an issue. First up is my monstera, Meg. I bought her in March and she was doing ok. I lost a leaf or two so potted up in some basic potting mix. After reading through the forums for the last few days at various points, I realise that that was quite a rookie thing to do. Now she looks like this. Here are a couple of incredibly sad leaves, do these need pruning? And if so where on earth do you prune Monstera as they seem to be the newest leaves? Is is she beyond saving? There hasn't been any new growth since I potted up so I've moved her from the room she was in to a slightly brighter ne facing room. I'm considering repotting using gritty mix but I'm unsure if it's too late in the year? And then there is Arabella Fiddle Leaf Fig. She was a housewarming present from last year. She's been potted up twice (seriously, I regret these actions ) and the top two leaves are new growth. The three slightly below I'm sure are mechanical damage. She currently lives in front of a SE facing window, or at least within 1m with moderate direct sunlight for part of the morning. I moved her recently as I don't think she was getting enough light where she was, especially considering my husbands propensity to not bothering opening the curtains of a morning. There are a few crispy leaves and I'm uncertain if there is any new growth at the top as I'm watching her like the proverbial boiling pot. There are a couple of buds that are peeking out that seem to be getting more pronounced. So my vague plan with Arabella is to repot into gritty mix and potentially chop off the top third just above the bud that is pictured. Hopefully that would encourage branching and strengthening of lower tree? I might be able to propagate the cut off top and start from scratch on a second plant if I do. I love these plants and don't want them to die, Meg hasn't even reached a level of maturity where her leaves have split yet! Basically any advice or opinions on pruning in the case of Meg, repotting of both of them using gritty mix and my general plans for Arabella will be more than welcome! My main concern is I've left it too late to fix any of these problems this year and I'm unsure if they'll last the winter. Side note, I didn't realise you could see my sad succulent Florain the background of my pictures of Arabella! I may attempt to propogate more succulents from her as she seems less than happy too.

Looks good - like all will be well, given the new back-budding we expected ..... and no big deal if the existing leaves are shed. Keep a close eye on watering. The leaves in the process of being shed will be walled-off from the rest of the plant by an abscission layer forming where the leaf attaches to the branch. This new layer forms a barrier through which no sap or water will pass. That means the tree will need much less water. You know about the 'tell', so you know how to minimize soil saturation by using that to determine when to water. You can start fertilizing as soon as those new branches start to extend. I can't remember if you said you got the FP 9-3-6? Strong work! Al

Hi there! Hi, Rachel. I'll sort through your discussion and make comments as I go. Long story short, I obtained 3 separate FLFs growing in one 14" pot and was advised to separate and repot them. The best time to repot is just before the summer solstice (21 Jun - think Father's Day). Repotting in fall sets you/the plant up for a recovery period measured in months rather than weeks, as would be the case if the plant was healthy and repotted in Jun. I hesitated for a while because they seemed happy and had new growth, but about 3 months ago I finally pulled the trigger because they were pushing each other to lean waaay out of the pot. A more appropriate response to a leaning plant is to get out ahead of the lean through directional pruning. The growth habit of Ficus is such that their leaves grow grow from the branch in sort of a spiral or helix. From above looking down, the first leaf would be at the 12 o'clock position, the next one at 3, then 6 then 9 (roughly) then repeat. By pruning just beyond a leaf facing the direction you want a new branch to grow, you can chance the direction any trunk/ branch is growing. In the figure above, a cut above the top leaf would produce a branch that would grow to the left and back. The middle leaf, as you can see, has produced a new branch growing to the right and back. Had the stem been pruned above the lowest leaf, it would have produced a branch growing to the left and forward, and the unseen leaf below the lowest leaf is almost certainly growing right/ forward. By choosing where the branch is pruned, you can change it's direction. Also, The best pruning response (most enthusiasm from the plant) occurs in summer. If you prune now, you get a winters worth of lanky growth that you really don't want to keep. It's best to prune in Jun. That way, you get a full summer of tight growth and short internodes, followed bt more lanky growth in winter. The fix for that is to remove the winter growth every year in Jun. That way you keep only the tightest growth, so you have a fuller and more compact tree. Questions? I repotted the largest one in it's own pot (it's doing well!) and potted the other two together using a 65/35(ish) mix of Fox Farm potting soil and perlite. Initially all 3 FLFs lost a couple of leaves from the shock, but ultimately were doing well until their first watering about 2 weeks after repotting. A couple days after watering, all of the leaves on the upper half of the left tree in the photo began to droop dramatically and fell off one by one over the following week (all of the leaves were newer but of comparable size to the ones on the upper right tree). It was very upsetting, but I knew the damage was irreversible - although I still don't know exactly what happened - so I just left them alone and this is where we are now. Hard to say, given the info provided. Was the tree outdoors for the summer? Odds are heavy it was either a response to a decrease in light or over-watering. The tree on the right never reacted negatively, and the one on the left seems to be done with his tantrum. The upper half of the trunk where the leaves dropped has shriveled up and seemingly died from what I can tell, along with a tiny little branch you can see on the bottom right. My question is: do I need to wait until the late spring to prune off the shriveled/dead parts, or can I cut off some of it now so it doesn't look quite so grim? Either is ok. Start cutting segments of the branch at its tip. Keep cutting segments until you find living/ green tissue or the entire branch has been removed. I live in zone 7 and know not to prune or notch for new growth until next year, but since the upper part is (very likely) dead, I don't think pruning it in the winter will trigger any new growth? Right? Removing dead tissue can't and won't stimulate back-budding; and your tree(s) won't grow until the volume of the root system is able to support new growth. This, because the plant is programmed to spend energy on roots BEFORE it spends energy on shoots. That's why the first growth from a seed is the root radicle (taproot). It sounds like it might be a while before the root system is able to support more top growth; and, you have the short days and diminished light intensity working against you until spring. Al