Defoliating a ficus

weirdowl

I've read before that it is okay to completely defoliate a ficus tree. I've also read just the opposite. What is your experience with this? Words of caution?

Thanks

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weirdowl

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TreeBay

I think that many do defoliate, some after the leaves harden, others in winter.

The suggestions on ficus retusa here suggest cutting (not plucking) leaves in January:

http://www.poppyware.com/pgb/care/Ficus.html

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weirdowl

Thanks Matt. I've been hesitant to do this but I think it could do a lot of good for the shape of my tree, as long as it's fairly safe. Now I just need to work up the nerve. Thanks again.

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weirdowl

TreeBay

It's safe as long as the tree is 100% healthy and growing well. If it's not, don't defoliate.

You also may not want to defoliate the weaker branches, in any case.

Regards,

Matt

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matsu

weirdowl: You can absolutely defoliate ficus, but it depens on the cultivar. I routinely defoliate ficus retusa and nerifolia 2 or 3 times a year. I just partially defoliated a large F. Retusa yesterday for the 3rd time this year. However, I have not had good success with defoliating ficus benjamina. They don't bud back very reliably and I have gotten die back in the past. For that reason I have culled all but one of these out of my collection. I keep the one only because it was one of my first trees 17 years ago.

Defoliation is a tool that serves multiple purposes: (i) increasing ramification, (ii) decreasing leaf size and (iii) balancing strength in the tree. The key is to only defoliate a tree that is growing strongly. Defoliating a weak tree will only weaken it more and you won't get the kind of back budding you're looking for. With a tree that is fairly mature, and with balanced strength/vigor throughout, you can defoliate the whole tree. With a tree whose branches show marked differances in strength (e.g. lower branches are weaker than the upper branches), I usually won't defoliate the weaker branches. This will allow them to strengthen and catch up while the upper branches rebud, thus balancing the tree's strength.

When defoliating, I cut off the leaves as Matt suggests (rather than pulling them off), leaving the leaf stem. This protects the shoot bud at the base of the leaf. The stem will fall off as the new shoots emerge. It is also helpfull to prune back the branches somewhat. Trimming back a shoot removes the auxin from the growth tip. Auxin is a plant growth hormone that causes the shoots to elongate and it suppresses the gibberelin (sp?)hormone that causes branching. If the tree is growing strongly, you will find that after defoliation the tree will explode with new growth and many new buds will form. This will increase the ramifiaction and the leaves will be smaller. Once that occurs, you will find it helpful to selectively remove some of the buds for design purposes.

One last thing, I live on the Texas gulf coast (Zone 9a) and temperatures are still in the 90s here. Summer will last for at least 6 more weeks and I have plenty of growing season left at this point. That is why I was comfortable defoliating the Retusa yesterday, but that will be the last defoliation of the year. I see you're in Zone 7 and question whether you have enough summer left at this point for the tree to react properly. If the tree's growth is starting to slow down now as fall approaches or you plan on bringing the tree inside soon, I wouldn't defoliate. I'd hold off and defoliate early next summer when the tree is again growing at its peak.

This works for me in my climate, but I suspect it may be too aggrssive for your climate. I hope someone else with more experience with ficus in your area, or who grows them inside, will respond. Good luck.

Regards, Matsu

whidn

So Matsu, I am in the Gulf coast LA (Zone 8-9). Yesterday I baught a little pot of 7 bejamine ficus. I seperated them into indavidual pots and brought them inside. Do you suggest I keep them outside once they resume growth until fall? I am sure we have pretty much the same climate. We both been getting much rain, LOL.
also I read that ficus Benjamina dont do well with defoliation. I wish I would have read this yesterday morning, I would have baught a different type of ficus. Oh well they were only $4 at Marshalls. No big deal. I might just keep them as house plants and buy a different type for bonsai.

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matsu

whidn: It sounds like you just repotted them. I'd keep them outside for now but out of the hot afternoon sun and wind. Good luck.

weirdowl

Thanks you very much Matsu. This is something I've been wondering about for a while. The one tree I was really wondering about was only labeled as a "Dwarf Ficus" when it was bought. Is this just a generic name, or is this the name of a specific cultivar? I also have some benjamina starters that I'd been thinking about defoliating. I guess I'll stick with the regular pruning method with them. Thanks again. I appreciate your help.

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weirdowl