Ficus Microcarpa with Pictures

So at the moment this tree is getting some natural light in a southern window and its not doing bad from just that. I do plan on reducing to the lowest branch this season, the question is should I reduce now and drop it into a terrarium with a grow light or leave it where it is until summer when it goes back outdoors and reduce it than. The reason its not in the terrarium right not is that its too tall for it. My plan for the tree it to keep it as a low wide canopy, hopefully with aerial roots, as it will be coming in every winter and space is a concern

probably should leave it be, if it were my tree id hack away , but it dosent really belong in canada
in hawaii, i could cut it now, stick the cutting in the ground and have two trees before spring
let it rest and be happy, imo

Thanks for the advice Arno. I wish i could do the same around here

I like your plan, but I wonder if, when chopped down and that bottom branch becomes part of the trunk, will some reverse taper start to form at the top of the S? Maybe how you chop it will make the difference.

david may have a point if nothing else pops below the chop and the remaining branch, but it is fairly likely that it will back bud, in which case you could let a couple sacrifice branches grow to send energy further down the trunk and hopefully fattening it up closer to the ground...

and in my experience, these will react better to drastic work in the summer... i have never used grow lights so i cant help there, but i would think heat and humidity in addition to the grow lights could simulate summer... ???

Thanks everyone! I'm going leave it until summer i'd say. I have given the chop itself great thought. I cant recall where it was, but I had seen an article discussing chopping back to avoid having the trunk bend at that point. If I find it I will post a link. But as the tree matures i'm hoping some aerial roots will develop the trunk and hopefully cover any reverse taper, if it should develop.

I've made the chop. Won't fit on the heat mat at the moment, but it all needs to be rearranged. Everything else will go out when its hot enough.

If you can pull yourself away from that map of Turkmenistan for a minute, put that thing outside........overnights in the 50's won't hurt.......you can't be any lower than that at this point in summer, can you?

Sadly, last night was 9c out which I think is 48f. But Saturday night past there was a frost warning. We're close but just not there yet.

Wow...amazing. Will summer ever begin?

I really, really hope so. Think I should repot now or give it a chance to catch up again?

I think I would let it do some growing. Ficus don't mind tight feet. Nice cut.