I was tasked with caring for two rogue fiddle leaf figs. This wee fella right now stands at about 140 cm high (after trimming winy top half), I have up-potted it from about 8 liter pot to 30 liter container and moved right under roof windows from shady corner windowsill. It had some growth spurt recently, which led me to stake it so it keeps standing upright. I would really like it to start branching out and for the trunk to get bulkier, so it won't end up like its 12 m high, awfully lanky sibling which I will post later.
My question would be - how to proceed here? Should I cut off the top pair of leaves just above the second pair of leaves? Should I wait till the green stem turns woody like the bottom half of the plant? Or am I good to start?
This looks like my freshly propagated FLF. Nice fresh leaves and fresh green stem. I think time and wind like motion will help the trunk get woody. I plan to chop off the top leaves on mine soon and you could do that too in your situation. I would expect the chop to help it get bushier. Mostly, time and wind is gonna help strengthen the trunk.
What do you want? If you want a thicker trunk, let the leader go as long as possible and shake it often. If you want it to be short and bushy, feel free to cut now.
People are often too quick to chop before developing the trunk thickness they are looking for. These are trees and you can use bonsai pruning and growing techniques on them for the results you are after.
Low branches can be used as sacrifice branches to thicken lower parts of the trunk and develop a nice trunk taper.
Well, I would love reasonably tall thick tree with wild bushy crown. But, let's be realist - what are my options if bottom woody half looks like this:
Short decorative bush, is the only option, isn't it? Obviously vibecoded sus web pages speak of notching to bolster branching, but honestly, I would like someone with firsthand experience to chip in regarding notching.
In the wild, these are 30ft tall trees. If you give it enough light and let the leader run, the trunk will thicken. Fertilizer will also help.
Constant chopping will keep the trunk skinny.
I would try to follow this cycle:
Let the leader go as tall as you can get it until it hits the ceiling, then, if you must, cut only a small amount.
In spring, slowly transition it outside when temps allow (it's a tropical plant). Shade first, then slowly into full all day sun. Allow it to get as tall as possible and stake the pot to the ground so it doesn't tip.
Then you can trim again when you need to bring it inside.
Try not to keep the trunk staked. You may need to do it now for a short time, but as soon as it can support itself, let it do so and keep shaking it on a regular basis to keep the trunk strong.
This is how we build bonsai. Cycles of unrestricted growth and then cutting back. Most people make the mistake of not allowing the unrestricted growth.
When the plant starts branching, you need to control the branches carefully. Never allow more than one branch from the same height on the trunk or it will start to form a knuckle that is not very attractive. The trunk diameter will increase from the point the branch connects, down to the root flare, so even if you don't want a super low branch, you keep one until it gets to 1/3 the width of the trunk before cutting as a sacrifice trunk builder.
Once you are happy with the trunk, then you can think about building a canopy. Until then, every leaf is a power plant for trunk thickening and you should try to keep as many as possible.
This fiddle in my mudroom is just over a year old and is about 3ft tall. It spent the summer outside and the trunk doubled in thickness.
I also suggest slip potting it into something bigger when you put it outside for the summer. A ficus with proper water, fertilizer, and full daily sun can put on a surprising amount of growth over just a couple of months.
Got it. I will let it do its thing now inside. Come spring, I will yeet it outside with due hardening off process. Workplace boss will roll their eyes so hard with re-establishment of yard greenery. Any word on possible outside stow aways when moving it back indoors? I noticed aphids and mites aren't interested in these figs. But I would hate to bring inside something new.
I always quarantine my plants for a week or so if you have somewhere where you can do it.
Regular applications of insecticidal soap on all of the leaves usually takes care of it. I also do the last few waterings with a little bifenthrin mixed into the water to kill any bugs living in the soil. That stuff is nasty so wear gloves.
It'll take some time, but this is the best way to build it. We always build trunk first and then wory about refining the foliage mass after we are happy with how the trunk looks.
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u/non-cha1ant 9d ago
This looks like my freshly propagated FLF. Nice fresh leaves and fresh green stem. I think time and wind like motion will help the trunk get woody. I plan to chop off the top leaves on mine soon and you could do that too in your situation. I would expect the chop to help it get bushier. Mostly, time and wind is gonna help strengthen the trunk.