[Arid_gardener] RE: Ficus Trees

[Christine M. Bahto]

ORIGINAL QUESTIONS:
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:10:44 -0700 (MST)
From: cazfrz at cox.net

Chalene
85209

I am farly new to the southwest.  I have pygmy palms and a ficus tree that I
am concerned  about after the hard freeze we had in January.  I have seen
green on my pygmy palms but am not sure how to prune them.  Also my ficus'
leaves are all brown and don't know how it should be pruned either.  I was
considering pruning them within the next two weeks.

Any advice will be appreciated because I hate to lose any of these plants.


Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:50:24 -0700 (MST)
From: EJLYTER at msn.com

Ed
85048

since we had that freeze, I have 2 trees that all the leaves died. Sorry I
don't know what kind they are but I was wondering if I should leave the tree
alone or cut off basically the whole top and around it to reshape. Is there
a chance that I will kill the trees ?  They hang over my pool and in between
my house the my neighbors.  The leaves dropping in my pool is overwhelming
and there are a lot left in the tree.
Any advice you could give would be apprectiated....thank you,  ED

ANSWER:
Chalene and Ed,

Do not prune your Ficus Trees (Ed - that's most likely what kind of tree you
have) until you see new growth appear. These trees were extremely stressed
by the below average temps in January and pruning them will only stress them
out more. Once new growth appears you can prune to remove any branches that
appear to be dead. Never cut the whole top of a tree off, it is one of the
most stressful and unhealthy things you can to do a tree. The falling leaves
could indicate that new buds are forming at the base of the dead leaves, can
you get close enough to a branch to see if there are any signs of buds
growing? We still have a couple of weeks of winter left, you should start
seeing some new growth by the end off March.

As for the Pygmy Palms, they should only be pruned to remove lower leaves,
never cut off the top of a palm that is it's point of growth. Again, wait
until you see signs of new leaves growing to see if the palm is still alive,
them leave a few dead leaves on to help support and protect the new leaves
as they emerge. Just an FYI, the trunks of palms are formed by the bases of
dead leaves, so the more leaves you remove the thinner the trunk becomes.
Leaving old leaves on helps form a thicker trunk that is better able to
support a fuller canopy.

Christine Bahto
Master Gardener, Maricopa County, U of A Cooperative Extension