root pruning is best done in dormancy.. not when its growing leaves.. imo ... if you insist.. do it some other time ...

i dont get the pic editing.. why is there tape on the pot??? ...

i would probably shorten branches .. but even then.. you still have a sail boat sail.. on an overly tall tree.. with a rather thin trunk ... and rather than focusing on the lean.. i am wondering more about how you keep it upright in even a minor wind.. and staking it into the pot.. isnt going to help in any way ... and part of this confusion might be that i cant really see the whole situation with your pic ...

i understand your privacy concern.. but ignoring the lean.. maybe you can take a pic of the situation from the other side.. and show us the neighbors yard ... lol ...

if there were a chance.. and proper climate.. it might be nearing time.. for this to go in the ground ... at the appropriate time of year ... and that is when i would plant it vertical ... just adjusting the root ball in the hole ... to achieve such ...

ken

The tape is to keep the cat away?The lean is no problem. You can correct that when you repot, which won't be quite the chore you think it will be. You can prune and repot at the same time. Pruning on most (by a wide margin) tropical trees should be done in mid to late June (in northern hemisphere) when trees have high levels of energy and their ability to make energy from the sun's light is peaking (Jun 21 in the N hemisphere).

Your tree already has a sort of lazy-s trunk, which would be called an 'informal' upright in bonsai. Personally, I think the trunk is much more interesting and natural than trees with ramrod straight trunks. The lean can be corrected simply by changing the planting angle when you repot; or, by pruning the top back to a leaf pointing in the right direction, which would be back toward an imaginary line extending vertically from the point where the trunk exits the soil.

A third way you can change the direction of a branch is by guiding it mechanically. You can tie a strip rag or soft rope to a branch and move it into a new position.

Repotting is important. If you can't handle the tree now, what will you do after you've potted up another time or two? Root congestion is a slow killer and robs your tree of huge amounts of potential, & the amount of potential stolen increases until there is no potential left. You can easily reduce the pot size and soil volume by half if you repot, so there is nothing but upside associated with it.

Prune all branches back so only the 2 leaves closest to the trunk remain, then prune the top back to a leaf pointing in the right direction. It should be about a foot taller than the branch on the right after that branch has been pruned.

I just noticed you live in SoCal. You can do the pruning now if you decide to follow my suggestions, and repot any time in June.

BTW - this tree shouldn't go in the ground unless you correct the root issues first. There is no question it will be a problem tree if planted out without rootwork. I bare-root and correct root issues of every tree/shrub I plant. I've seen hundreds of trees that don't grow once in the ground or have large sections of dead branches on one side because the owner dropped a rootball in a hole, covered it with soil, and called it good.

Al

With Ficus lyrata, you can really prune any time and any amount. Usually the best time is spring though. I think now would be ideal. It will grow back quickly over the summer. I don't know why you want to trim the roots.

You could cut the whole thing back 2 or 3 feet all around.

What a grower 'can' do might be a whole lot different than what's best for the plant; early spring is a whole lot different than late spring when it comes heavy work on Ficus; and there is a big difference between hard pruning and pinching. In all of the US, except Hawaii, late fall to mid-spring are poor timing choices for pruning or repotting. There are 2 reasons for this. 1) when you prune too early, your tree will put on long, gangly growth that you really don't want on your tree. If you prune in late spring, immediately subsequent growth will have short internodes that ensure a full and compact tree. As days grow shorter, you leave all the long growth on the tree until the following LATE spring (as in mid-June). then remove it so you have the next order of short internodes growing on the lower order. 2) Trees are at their weakest in winter and early spring, so recovery from pruning or repotting takes many times longer than recovery from work undertaken when the tree's stored energy will be peaking. That's undeniable. The stasis we see in indoor Ficus during the winter means it's food making ability is equal to or less than what it takes to keep the tree's systems orderly. Why would anyone cut off the trees food factories (leaves) when it needs them most and can least afford to be w/o them? Plants have natural rhythms. Recognizing that and working WITH the tree instead of against it makes things a whole lot easier on the tree, and leaves the grower feeling (s)he's a better nurturer.

Trees are root-pruned because root congestion is limiting - it robs potential. I have ficus in pots that are 5-8 years old that have 2-3 times the trunk caliper as trees I see that people claim to be much older, 20-30 years; this, even in the face of the fact that I regularly remove large fractions of foliage to increase ramification. The difference lies solely in the fact that I regularly and religiously prune roots to rid the tree of useless heavy roots and make room for fine rootage that does all the heavy lifting. Potting up ensures the limitations associated with root congestion remain with the tree forever, or until the grower physically gets hands in the root system to correct the congestion. Even if planted out (in the landscape) trees that have long been in a container will be problem trees unless bare-rooted so the root issues can be fixed.

Al

Yes, the tape is there to keep the cat from using the pot as his litter box!

And apologies for the weird cropping of the photo. I’m just a touch paranoid. :)

I recall getting feedback from you, tapla, when I first got this tree, but I didn’t heed it. I’m ready to now, but I am still a bit nervous.

I don’t mind the lean so much, but I do mind if I have a dramatically pruned branch (to, per your recommendation, the two leaves closest to the trunk) for a year in my house. :( I know that pruning stimulates growth and longevity, but is there something I can do to preserve the full, lush look of the tree while keeping it healthy?

I only ask because this plant is such a stunner and centerpiece of my house, and I feel like I’d miss the leaves, even if I know they’re being cut for a good cause. (On the other hand, I’d miss the tree if it DIED!)

If I prune now (zone 10B), how long do you think it’ll take to get it as lush as it now?