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lartomar2002

benjamin ficus

lartomar2002
15 years ago

i purchased a benjamin ficus about 4 mo. ago. i have pruned the longer outer branches back 1/3. what i would like is to thicken the inner foliage and shape the plant into a ball. the plant is healthy but sparse. also, how often can i prune?

Comments (2)

  • ronalawn82
    15 years ago

    lartomar2002, I am not sure that you can do both things; shape it into a ball and thicken the inner foliage at the same time. Shaping it into a ball is comparatively easy. The youngest leaves are a lighter green and if you prune these only, (weekly?) soon you will have the ball shape. In the meantime the inner foliage will turn brown and eventually drop. To obtain inner foliage it will be necessary to allow light to penetrate the canopy and this can be achieved by removing varying amounts of twigs and branches. You will still be able to maintain a rounded profile but the perimeter will not be as tight as say, a topiary or similarily sculptured specimen.

  • lartomar2002
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    thank you

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