Ficus - how can i fill this plant out

[Utah]

Not much to prune back on this plant, how would you go about filling this plant out?

 

[jk_lewis]

Fertilize the dickens out of it, give it lots of light, not too much water, and let it grow rampant for several years.

 

[GrimLore]

If you keep it humid and give it 16 hours of good light a day at 60f or better for the remainder of Winter in Ohio it will fill out a lot. In Spring when you take it outside it will probably drop most if not all of it. Put it in a spot that gets morning sun, keep it watered, fertilize it(more then the ctn says) and it will fill in again like it had steroids. When it goes back inside the process will repeat itself by dropping and regrowing.

 

[Utah]

thanks

Thank you i will give it a try.

 

[lordy]

If you keep it humid and give it 16 hours of good light a day at 60f or better for the remainder of Winter in Ohio it will fill out a lot. In Spring when you take it outside it will probably drop most if not all of it. Put it in a spot that gets morning sun, keep it watered, fertilize it(more then the ctn says) and it will fill in again like it had steroids. When it goes back inside the process will repeat itself by dropping and regrowing.

lwhile I agree that feeding it and keeping it in light will help, I disagree that it will likely drop more leaves. BE SURE you introduce it to outdoor sunlight slowly. Put it in morning sun for a couple hours a day for the first week or so, then gradually increase it by a couple hours a day. Otherwise you will learn about leaf scortch. That tree should be able to handle a good 10 hrs a day full sun during warm weather. In the fall when temps drop below 50F at night consistently, bring it in and just keep it alive. Give it as much light as you can (south facing window if possible) and feed it less than you did when outside. I have a ficus benjamina forest that is probably 15 years old and it never loses leaves. It's pretty much hard to hurt.

 

[RichKid]

lwhile I agree that feeding it and keeping it in light will help, I disagree that it will likely drop more leaves. BE SURE you introduce it to outdoor sunlight slowly. Put it in morning sun for a couple hours a day for the first week or so, then gradually increase it by a couple hours a day. Otherwise you will learn about leaf scortch. That tree should be able to handle a good 10 hrs a day full sun during warm weather. In the fall when temps drop below 50F at night consistently, bring it in and just keep it alive. Give it as much light as you can (south facing window if possible) and feed it less than you did when outside. I have a ficus benjamina forest that is probably 15 years old and it never loses leaves. It's pretty much hard to hurt.

Great Forest! I also have a few benjamina I just picked up. They are a little tall, I'm wondering how much can I reduce and how to go about doing it. Any suggestions?

 

[lordy]

Great Forest! I also have a few benjamina I just picked up. They are a little tall, I'm wondering how much can I reduce and how to go about doing it. Any suggestions?

I got mine from Home Depot quite a while ago. If I recall, all in one pot. I've had them in several configurations over the years. Probably will change it again when I repot. I wired a few trunks back in the day and left it on too long. I experimented with "shaving" off the wire ridges here and there, and figured I girdled the trunks, but it worked to smooth out the damage. The trees are pretty easy for me to work with.
To get yours to fill out, cut them back, pinch new growth, feed well, water as needed, and give them sunlight to their hearts content when hardened off in spring. And remember about leaf scortch. Perhaps filtered/dappled sun for a couple weeks is prudent.
I just remembered a trick that I employ. Every week or so, leaf prune the largest leaves. Pick a number based on the size of your foliage. It might be 10 leaves or it might be 30. Take the largest ones off and the remaining stored vigor should be redirected to closer in.