I repotted a Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina) and now want to hard prune it. How soon should I do this ?

Ficus Benjamina in England is strictly a houseplant ---it can be placed outside in summer but any cold weather is detrimental. I think that your few sentences speak volumes about the conditions this plant enjoys --- it is a native to India but it should be noted that it is a jungle plant and enjoys the heat in dappled shade which is exactly where your indoor Ficus lives and thrives. Your plant in full sun is suffering just as we would, left out in the sun all day, and you need to place it in a porch in the shade.

As far as pruning goes --- this plant grows into a beautifully shaped specimen on its own, thank you, and only requires pruning if you wish to restrict its growth but in the case of your plant which is suffering it may help if you reduce it just a little to decrease stress while it recovers. The Ficus is evergreen and pruning can be carried out all year round especially in hot countrise where lucky people like you enjoy sunshie all year round.

First, it is not a true houseplant, its a tree that does best outdoors. Because it is topical it has to be kept indoors in many areas, but is healthiest when kept outside. I mostly agree with what the poster above said,but would recommend changing one thing. When you pull the ficus out of its old pot, remove as much of the old soil as possible. It sounds like you have had it for a while, which means it is probably root bound. This can inhibit new root growth as the majority of the roots ar trapped withing the oild soil ball. Using a skewer, chopstick, etc, gently remove as much ofthe dirt as possible and untangle the roots as much as possible. If you break some, dont worry, you can safely remove up to half of its roots without harming the tree. But just because you can doesnt mean you should so be carefull to break as few roots as possible. Once you have done this, decide at what point you want the tree to emerge from the pot. the best thing to do is get some one to help you. Have them hold hte tree at the desired level and then you fill in the pot, makeing sure to keep the roots seperated. If you just dump the soil in the roots will get clumped in the center. So, a handfull at a time insert soil into the pot making sure the roots stay spread. ince the pot is full water well, and place it in a shaded area for about a week ot two - this gives it time to recover from the transplant and helps to reduce leaf loss.