As a bonsai judge, I know a little about what to do to bring out the potential in the tree's shape. Technically, the bifurcations (forks) appear too high on the trunk for the tree to be an ideal multi-trunk specimen, which means you would need to reduce the tree to a single trunkline to get the best from the tree. No big deal if that's not something you want to do because you're not looking for a prize, just a more presentable tree. You might have made an error if you pruned out the center of the tree, which it looks like you did in the picture. The stem closest to the center, determined by an imaginary vertical line upward from where the trunk enters the soil, would be the logical leader. At this point, you should decide if you want it to be a single trunk (you'd need to remove 3 trunks) or a multi-trunked plant. As an option, you could fairly easily air layer off the top of the tree just below where the trunks all split. If you're going to leave it all tied up until the trunks are set in place, you need to reduce the ht of all the trunks to different hts. Generally, trees look better with 1, 2, 3, 5, or 7 trunks. 4 is not usually used, so I would remove 1 trunk, then shorten the other 3 so the thickest trunk is tallest, the thinnest trunk is 1/2 the ht of the tallest, and the trunk with medium thickness is 2/3 the ht of the tallest. What do you think? Al

If it were mine and I wanted it pretty much the way it is now, single stem with a bushy top, I would cut it back below the branches on each prong of the 'trident'. Put it outside in partial shade for a couple weeks to acclimate, and then move to full sun. Ficus back bud easily, and full sun will encourage this. Once new growth is under way, move into part shade so as not to produce sun leaves, which will not like being moved into a relatively dark house for winter. Ficus are known to drop their leaves if a shadow passes over them lol. If you want a bushy plant that branches near the soil line, you can cut the main stem to 6-12 inches, and proceed as above. There is a chance, however slight, that the plant will not like being chopped on and turn up it's toes, but I think it's a chance worth taking considering the state the plant is in now.

Hi, Amy. Unlike animals/humans, plants don't grow new tissues in the same spatial planes as the damaged tissues, so the blemishes left by photo-oxidation (sunburn) will be a part of the leaf until it's shed or you snip it off. There are good soil and poor soils, with varying degrees of good and bad within the category. I don't think a soil can get a 'good' grade unless you can water plants in it to beyond saturation w/o having to worry the soil will remain soggy so long it has a notable impact on root health/function. It's hard to make a difference when you "amend" MG potting soil by adding perlite or even pine bark because in order to realize any significant increase in drainage and aeration, the coarse fraction of the ingredients needs to be several times larger than the MG you started with. Using the 5:1:1 mix as an example - it has 5 parts of pine bark of suitable size, one part perlite and one part peat or a soil like MG. That means it has 6 parts of coarse material and 1 part of fine material, which is where the superior aeration and drainage come from. It's kind of hard to say you amended your MG potting soil if it's only 1/7 of the total volume of the mix. I never start cuttings in water because of the issues associated with that practice. If, for some reason I HAD to start cuttings in water, I would move them out of water into a very well-aerated, damp/moist/never wet mix as soon as root primordia (the white bumps) became conspicuous. Good job, BTW. Al

Hi, Kim. I think you're being a little too hard on yourself. Your plant looks healthy, so you get gold stars for that. Where most of the plants seen here would be designated as 'of the species', your is actually a cultivar - 'Bambino', probably, and was selected for it's growth habit. It varies from the species plant in that it exhibits a very compact growth habit - very short internodes relative to the species plant, with smaller/thicker uniformly green leaves with lighter veins, the leaves oriented more nearly upright on very short petioles (leaf stems). I'm sure the cultural wants of your plant are the same as those of the species plant. Should I cut it way down to encourage branches lower? Sometimes a grower gets a message a plant is sending with only a casual glance. Your plant looks reluctant to back-bud, which is the first step in forming new branches. You can wait to see what the plant does on its own; put the plant outdoors in brighter light (when temps are above 55*), where the light and air movement bight stimulate back-budding; or you can cut the plant back to about 2/3 of the ht you want to maintain it at, which will force back-budding, but to what degree is still a question. I'd do it around the 4th of July if I lived in SF. I've read posts about better soil so I will try that also. I just want a fuller plant. Also I live in San Francisco if that matters in terms of light. Not the sunniest spot in CA, it it? ;-) Is the pot big enough? Is that a trick question? It's more than big enough, but that comment needs to be qualified if it's to have any meaningful value. If the roots have reached a degree of congestion where the root/soil mass can be lifted from the pot intact, it needs repotting. Repotting doesn't mean 'moved to a larger pot', that's potting up. In fact, it may well turn out that a much smaller pot would be a more realistic choice after a repot, which includes root pruning, but that decision would be made based on your choice of soils. The better your soil drains and the less excess water your soil holds, the less important pot size becomes in terms of the plant being over-potted. The reverse is true as well. The more water retentive your soil is, the more critical pot size is and the more important it becomes to avoid an over-potted plant. Al