Post 42 Ficus root pruning

I started this Ficus Benjamina 'Baby Ben' from a sprig of a cutting in a rolled up plastic tube in 1988. There is a rock somewhere under all those roots. Here it is now in its beautiful spring foliage.

 The conventional wisdom about the timeing for root pruning ficus generally suggests the warmer early summer months, typically November, as preferred over spring. In the past I've tended to do the deciduous varieties just before the onset of spring - usually in the last 2 weeks of August and then follow up with the figs at the end of September. I don't like the idea of a full prune for a tree, top and tail, when it has just produced a flush of new growth, and then might be exposed to early high temperatures as we often see in October, ie mid 30sC.

This year things looked like they were moving a little early so I started my root pruning campaign around August 12. See Post 31 from August for pruning pictures. I did the figs last but they were done by August 22 when overnight temperatures were still getting to 10C to 12C and low to mid 20Cs during the day. The prune involved a full defoliation, branch structure and roots with the root mass being cut back to about one third of the depth and a good 30mm slice all around the edges but not bare rooting.The warmth of the days was no doubt sufficient to get them through this treatment so early but they have got away again looking great, sufferered no dehydration stress, and the renewed growth can be used for development rather than indiscriminantly cut off.

The pot I'm afraid to say is an inexpensive typical glazed chinese pot. Well I needed a big one to hold the tree and it still works. Fortunately the glaze surface has weathered in the 10 or more years I've had it, taking  a little of the shine off. That can happen if the glaze is less than a stable formulation.