Help with a half-dead ficus bonsai

[tulip]

Absolute newbie here. Bit of a long story how it wound up this way, but I have a Golden Gate Ficus bonsai that was believed to be dead, but did finally develop some new growth.
Thing is, the only growth is near the base of the tree. I assume the upper portions are indeed dead. As it sits right now, I've done nothing with it for a year, but now think it may be worth trying to fix it up. However, I have no idea where to start. Should I clip some of the growth? Could I train some of the growth up the old trunk and branches?
I've been doing reading and have watched a lot of videos, but I haven't seen anything that addresses this type of situation.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
thanks,
tulip

 

[JosephCooper]

Don't give up on the top yet, I see an aerial root on there. If you want to learn about ficus, go to https://adamaskwhy.com , he is a master of tropicals.

 

[Vin]

Scrape the bark, if it has white creamy stuff under it then that portion is still alive. I'm guessing you keep it inside which is okay for a ficus as long as you're providing the light and water it needs.

 

[Ironbeaver]

If the top is dead, search for "sumo style"

 

[BrianBay9]

Get it outside as much as you can in your climate. Feed it and let it grow all summer before you decide what to do with it. If you have to bring it in over the winter, give it as much light as you can. You might add a general location to your profile to get more specific advice.

 

[tulip]

I'm in Superior, WI. The tree has been in an east facing bow window (with sheer curtains) for the past year.
I have a screened in porch that might be a good place for it once the freezing weather finally goes away. What sort of temperatures can a ficus tolerate?
Any suggestions for the sprouts I have now? Should they be thinned out, or should I be nipping the tips...?

 

[bonsaichile]

they are tropicals, so heat and humidity are your friends here. Ficus will not tolerate temperatures below 45F.

 

[BrianBay9]

I wouldn't cut anything now. Looks like you want as much energy as possible going into a recovery. They will be able to take full sun in your location once your night time temps get consistently above 45 - 50. The transition from inside to out might stimulate some leaf burn or leaf drop. You can start in the shade and gradually move to more sun over a week or two. It will adjust.

 

[Solaris]

How close do you keep it to the window? I have a couple-few plants that I cycled through a spot on the window, each getting pissy and dropping leaves until I finally twigged to the fact that the window was radiating cold. After pulling them back, they're doing much better even with less light.

 

[sorce]

Good news is....post die back....

This tree has much quicker potential!

That which died was UGLY!

Happy fresh start!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce