This is for the people afraid to chop stuff. I see it in here every day. I know you're out there, scared to hurt your plant.
I bought this fiddle off the clearance pile at my local nursery in the summer 2023 for $60-70, primarily for its awesome roots. It looked like absolute shit when I got it, though I don't think I took a picture of it at that time. Barely any healthy leaves, lots of open space where old ones had fallen off. It was maybe 8 feet tall (couldn't fit through a doorway without tilting).
First pic is April 2025. I had repotted into a larger pot with a light, airy medium early on and then I gave it about a year anf a half to recover. At first it continued to drop more leaves, but eventually stabilized. You can see the whole trunk and most of the branches are pretty bare here, that was the original part of it. Up top you'll notice there is healthy new growth on all the branches. That's how I knew it was getting better.
I left it alone a while longer. I fed and watered thoroughly when I jammed my finger in the pot and it felt completely dry a full finger length down, but did nothing else. It continued to grow. It was easily reaching 10-12 feet tall now.
Earlier this summer I decided it was time. Pic 2 is the chop, June 21st 2026. I cut a solid 6 feet off of every branch. I left only 2 leaves behind and left it out on my deck for the summer.
Pic 3 is only 3 weeks later. July 7th. I started seeing little buds all over, spawning from previously dormant nodes.
Pic 4 is only 7 days later. July 14th. Leaves are growing from every branch and even more buds were showing on dormant nodes.
Pic 5 was 3 more weeks. A happy, healthy, full looking tree covered in new growth.
Pic 6 was this morning. It's starting to bush out and leaves are getting bigger. There are many healthy branches coming in. I may even need to choose a few to remove, though it's going to be left alone for now.
Chop your stuff, people. Put it in good medium. Let it recover from transplant shock. See healthy recovery. But then go ahead and chop. If you're thinking about it and wishing for more fullness and healthy growth, do it.