每日吃瓜

We have a 35-year old ficus that was gifted to us about a dozen years ago. It is about 10 feet tall and has multiple, intertwined main trunks. It is doing poorly - and it is too large for us to take it with us when we retire and downsize in the next couple of years. Can it be pruned, grafted, or otherwise encouraged to grow new branches as a bonsai? Given the tree's size, I'm estimating that it will require drastic root trimming to fit into a 15-inch square bonsai pot.

Thanks for your help in advance!

Ficus can handle quite hard work if healthy. Spend a year getting it in vigour, preferably a summer outdoors with good watering and fertilizing. Next summer cut back hard and the spring after that, if recovered from pruning, put into a smaller pot.

If it can become a bonsai? I do not see any pictures. But you say intertwined main trunks. That is not the best material for bonsai. But to me it souds like your vision is to make it smaller to fit in a future home, that can be done. You can call it bonsai if you want, not everyone will agree. Or you don't call it bonsai and just enjoy it anyway.

Hello!

If we can have a picture, it would surely help on giving you an opinion...