In cases where the plant was circling the drain before the grower asked for help, the standard advice would be to let the tree decide, because the tree couldn't afford to lose even one of its food factories (leaves). In cases where the tree is/was healthy, and only a few leaves are affected, the grower has more latitude in that removing a couple of spoiled leaves when there are dozens of others to pick up the slack makes it not such a big deal. However, in this case where there is already a severe water deficit, the only way to ensure the plant won't collapse entirely is to defoliate. Hardy figs are genetically endowed with a high level of vigor, which allows them to tolerate stress less vigorous trees might not be able to, but plants are shedding organisms and a serious lack of ability to move water to its distal parts can cause wholesale death/shedding of branches or a rapid collapse of the entire plant. Partially defoliating is a half measure that might work, but it might not. Given the pre-repot health of the tree, there is little question the tree can tolerate the defoliation.

I use defoliation regularly as a tool to make it easier to work on my trees and to increase ramification (branch & leaf density), so it's not the risk most would think it to be.

Ficus benjamina ^^^

Defoliated ^^^

Work complete, starting to fill in again.

Ficus microcarpa ^^^ with 90% of its top mass removed (Father's Day). I kept only the branches that would become part of the end composition.

Same tree 6 weeks later ^^^

Pruned hard a second time in same summer, wiring session completed.

Don't be put off by the fact I'm working on bonsai. Bonsai is container gardening with at least a 5X difficulty factor. If a bonsai tree will tolerate it, there is no reason F carica won't tolerate it grown under conventional container culture. Just be careful not to over-water. Never rely on your finger to 'tell' you when to water - use a 'tell' you can make from a wooden dowel rod.

Using a 'tell'

Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant.

Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor.

In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water.

Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'.

One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue.

Al