[9B, semi-tropic/humid FL] How late-in-year would you get-away with Ficus insults? How about setting an air-layer, w/ intent to remove in spring?

SU2

Omono
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I've got some Ficus that I'd left til the end of my "2020 interventions" window, and that window's rapidly closing even though I'm in "outdoor-greenhouse" Florida (my bougies never drop their leaves, ficus grow through the winter just slower, crapes will grow if you give them pruning otherwise it's a 75//25 of them keeping//losing their foliage if left-alone)

#1 - medium/large ficus in development, thing was a giant bush I had to bring it down-to size, hard-pruned its leaders (most around 2/3rd removal) and am uncertain I'll do anything else to the top, but plan to root-prune him at his repotting (probably today or tomorrow as time permits)

#2 - I've got a larger limb on another ficus (both are benjaminas) that I want to remove via layering, can I set an aerial layer now and collect in spring/early summer? Or too-late in the year to set that up? For what it's worth, the limb to be layered was hard-pruned about 3wks ago (in preparation for this)

thanks for any info/advice, will get pics if I'm able (my day is up-in-the-air at this moment) but expect the descriptions are pretty clear.... basically since ficus grow year-round here, I'm seeing their "risks of supple growth getting winter damaged" being far, far less a worry than most-any other specie, and if so then I can move-forward w/o worry (I'm able to over-winter specimen as-needed, though I haven't had to protect a specimen one time in the past 2 or 3 winters here!)
 

armetisius

Chumono
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It can work but, if it were me, I would wait until after the solstice this winter that way the days will be getting longer instead of shorter as they are now. The increasing photocycles of an approaching Spring are gonna make this strike faster and harder than anything you are gonna get right now. You'll also probably get a more uniform strike around the base than the one that will form now. Just my opinion on it.
 
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