Benjamin Ficus

[tx92578]

Does anyone have experience with cutting this species of ficus back hard? I have a large one I have worked on the for the last 10 years(one of my first). Ive learned on this guy and he has always bounced back. Taking a little more mature view on bonsai shaping now, I'm not happy with the progression of my branch ramifications.(not twiggy). Anyway I would like to cut back hard all over and start the branching anew. Any more experienced wisdom out there on this species?

 

[Redwood Ryan]

I would advise against a hard chop on benjamina. They're very sporadic when it comes to backbudding.

 

[KennedyMarx]

Like Ryan said they are known to be picky about budding back after hard cutbacks. You could try leaf cutting or pinching out the new growth to try to stimulate back budding that you could cut back to.

 

[thams]

It's a total toss up in my experience. I've been told you can do a hard chop as long as you leave green on the branch. Just don't count on buds popping where you want them. If the tree has a good amount of stored energy, then your chances of backbudding are better. There's never a guarantee though. You may not want to risk a tree that's been in your collection for so long. Obviously totally up to you though!

 

[tx92578]

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll slowly work the branches back this summer instead of scalping him in one shot.