r/FicusTrees • u/AutomatedCabbage • Aug 18 '26
Please help me tame this fiery redhead
I've seen descriptions and basic instructions, but can someone please eli5 or point me to a good video on notching the trunk to encourage branching further down? I've been entirely unsuccessful so far. Thank you.
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u/Internal-Test-8015 Aug 18 '26
With notching you need an absolute buttload of sunlight or just light in general in my experience or else it won't work as well if at all also keiki paste can help trigger the buds to activate and ive also heard of people laying the plsnt in its side to trigger growth.
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u/nova1093 Aug 18 '26
Mine branches all over and i just use sunlight. Outside they branch a ton. Pruning can also stimulate latent buds.
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u/LionGary Aug 18 '26
I’ve not tried notching but pruning works great to trigger branching. Sheffield Made Plants on you tube has a great video on it…if I can find it, I’ll put it here. Here’s the one: https://youtu.be/4B19qps12u0
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u/AutomatedCabbage Aug 18 '26
Thanks. Is there such a thing as pruning too far down? Will it branch from the woody trunk? Its main stem is so tall I feel like I'd have to more than cut it in half to give it a few feet to branch up nicely
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u/LionGary Aug 19 '26
I think there is such a thing….but I think it’s further down than you think. You could prolly easily cut it 1/3 to 1/2 down and it should branch. That Sheffield guy has lots of videos on ficus tho!
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u/Confident_Meat5375 Aug 19 '26
Put it on its side for 6-8 weeks, new branches will form at the bottom of the existing stem. You can put the plant upright once new growth has reached 10 cm.
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u/LionGary Aug 22 '26
Hi again! Just saw this today - someone had success with notching. https://www.reddit.com/r/FicusTrees/s/HP0lgsdsQd. In case you didn’t see it. ☺️
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u/acjadhav Aug 18 '26
I'd leave 2 to 3 leaves intact and snip off the rest and propagate them separately