just at thought about growth direction. Plant normally grow towards the light so if you want your plant to do that then place it where there's a good overhead light source. For plants to bush out, you need to nip off the leader so that would be the tip of your tree. That should force out branches - but it takes time to happen.

The internet is full of misinformation. These plants grow and will do best under the most intense full sun. Sun through a window is filtered and not anywhere near as intense as it would be outside. The only issue you could ever have is the leaf getting too hot if you’re air is stangnent. If there’s a fan, or even a heat/ac vent in the same room, that’ll keep the air moving enough. It’s a bummer to see everyone coming here with the same “bright indirect” light thing. People misunderstand what that means so they stick it in a dark corner and the plant suffers. Bright, meaning right up in front of a window. Indirect means not outdoors in direct sunlight. Glass filters the sun, hence not direct. That’s only because the plants have been grown under a shade cloth. They can easily handle direct sun if acclimated. All Ficus should be in front of the brightest window in your house. whatmay seem bright or plenty of light to a human is nothing for a plant. Dont water in small amounts. Fully drench the soil till is coming out the drain holes so you’re flushing fertilizer and tap water salts from the soil. Don’t water on a a set schedule. Water only as the plant needs it. This is be different in the summer and winter.

I've noticed two long growths coming from the middle of the trunk. Are these...new branches? Yes, they are potentially new branches. IOW, once they start growing, they will become new branches. Or maybe just part of the process of thickening its trunk? No. Trunk thickening occurs when the tree is turning more of the sun's energy into food than it needs to keep its systems orderly. Some of that excess energy goes into multiplicative growth (more leaves, branches, and branch extension) the rest goes into additive growth, which occurs when files of cells are laid down in the cambium Not sure if one tree that's branching could influence a neighbor tree, seems like a stretch just not sure what this new growth means. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Pinching/pruning tree A won't impact tree B unless tree A and B are the same plant, which means there would be no A and B, only a tree A. Your tree is responding to the increase in light, and the fertilizer (if you haven't been fertilizing regularly) surely didn't hurt. Al

Thanks Al, if I understand you correctly, you are saying the current notches are too far from the leaf axils to effectively limit the polar flow of IAA to the lateral buds of interest. How far from the leaf axil do you usually notch for greater success? I can certainly create a second notch closer to the leaf axil. I looked into the question of apical dominance in plants (very briefly) while waiting for shuttle this morning. It seems the precise physiologic and molecular mechanisms that regulate lateral bud release and growth are still being characterized. The literature suggests multiple regulatory hormones besides IAA play critical roles in lateral bud release, and I wonder if any of these have found their way to commercial use for everyday consumers (either as hormones, hormone inhibitors, or synthetic agonists/antagonists in the signaling pathways of these regulatory hormones)? You have a lot of practical experience on container gardening and best positioned to know how growers are incorporating scientific advances to the cultivation of FLF.