Ficus rubbery how to pinch. Rubber ficus care: what you need to form a beautiful crown

Rubber-bearing ficus has long been successfully grown by amateurs indoors, but many questions usually arise about the formation of the indoor tree crown. The formation of ficus has its own subtleties and nuances, which should be remembered when starting pruning. This article is all about how to properly trim a ficus.

A chaotically overgrown plant must be cut.

Pruning of a house tree is performed when the trunk and crown are accidentally damaged (for example, when a plant falls) or when the height and shape of the crown are formed. Is it worth trimming a tree indoors? Of course, because in nature, rubber-bearing ficuses can reach a height of up to 40 meters and above. In room conditions, a fast-growing specimen of ficus can rest against the ceiling, which will prevent the further formation of the crown. In the early years, a large tree grows only upward, so pruning can stimulate the development of side branches. But pruning is not always needed to form a ficus crown.

Shaping the crown without pruning

The upper shoots are cut off until the crown takes on a rounded shape.

Unusual shape: it's interesting

Young ficuses can be formed into an unusual plant. To do this, several cuttings of the same age are planted in one container, which can be easily braided. Of course, cuttings from old branches are not suitable for this purpose, because the branches must have a certain flexibility so as not to break when weaving.

Large leaves are removed from the bottom of the trunks - it is the trunks that can easily grow together with each other that will give the plant a special charm. When weaving, you can give the pigtail a certain shape - spectacular holes between the trunks, for which pieces of foam, corks, stones or other materials are temporarily inserted into the braid. After the shape of the holes is fixed, you can remove these inserts.

Braided ficuses spend a lot of energy on creating the shape of the trunk, so they give very small increments in height. If you limit the growth of the roots by planting the plant in a low bowl, you can keep the intended shape of the ficus for a long time.

Crown shaping by pruning

With sharp scissors, you can cut off the top of the main trunk.

If you choose the classic option for shaping the crown of a rubber-bearing ficus - pruning, it is important to correctly perform all the techniques for forming an indoor tree.

Pruning times vary:

Formative pruning can only be done when the tree is actively growing, i.e. in autumn and winter, this operation is not performed.
Sanitary pruning is carried out as needed when the trunk or branches are damaged on the plant.

To perform high-quality pruning, you need to prepare the following tools:

Secateurs garden.
Garden shears (large).
Small scissors with sharp blades.
Alcohol solution for instrument processing.
Var garden for processing places of a cut.

How to cut the ficus yourself, what should you pay close attention to?

It is impossible to start work without means of protecting hands from the milky juice of ficus, which is very poisonous.
It is not recommended to drastically cut the plant at a time, removing more than 30% of the crown.

The flower grower, at his discretion, chooses the shape of the crown, guided by common sense, based on the individual characteristics of the plant.

New ficus shoots develop from apical or axillary buds, while the upper bud develops, the lateral buds sleep. To stimulate the branching of the ficus crown, it is necessary to give impetus to the development of axillary buds, which is achieved by pinching the main trunk. You can remove the dominant bud in the spring, when the ficus enters a period of intensive growth.

Thin green branches can be cut, leaving a straight platform, old branches covered with mature bark are cut at an angle of 45 degrees.

Pruning of the upper shoot is carried out above the kidney, from which new shoots will subsequently develop.

Plant care during the formation of the crown is reduced to watering with warm settled water, a month after the operation, it is worth carrying out the first feeding of the plant.

Photos of a correctly cut ficus are very pleasing - the plant begins to grow a dense crown and an extensive network of skeletal branches. In nature, rubber-bearing ficuses begin to branch naturally at a height of 4 meters.

After pruning, the plant is constantly turned towards the light source so that the crown can form evenly.

It is possible to form indoor ficus without pruning, for this you need to correctly direct the growth of young shoots, fixing individual branches if necessary. Such an operation will avoid injury to the young plant, as well as reduce the risk of infected infections in the area where the cut is made.

Young trees, whose branches have not yet fully lignified, are best tolerated by the imposition of fixing devices. Usually this method is used for young indoor trees growing in one trunk.

It is worth starting the formation of the crown when the growth of a young tree reaches 0.7 m. After that, the apical part of the shoot is pinched or cut off. Very often, pinching does not give the desired effect - a replacement shoot begins to develop from the lateral bud, as a result of which the plant grows into one trunk (see photo).

Often they use the method of bending down the apical shoot, which is securely fixed. A replacement shoot develops from the lateral bud, as soon as it grows to 5 cm, the trunk is returned to its original state. The next operation is performed to stimulate the growth of lateral branches, for which a puncture is made with a darning needle to a depth of 1/3 of the trunk diameter. It is best to start from above, gradually descending down the trunk, after the growth of the shoot at the site of the first puncture. The protruding juice is carefully removed with wet cotton wool or a rag. Work on pruning ficus should be done with rubber gloves - the juice of the plant is extremely poisonous.

Most types of ficuses are very hardy and unpretentious plants. But in order for them to develop harmoniously and delight the owners with a beautiful crown, experts recommend including regular pruning in the care of ficus. Let's look at how to form a beautiful ficus and how to prune correctly.

Novice lovers are often interested in whether it is possible to cut off an overgrown ficus and whether removing part of the branches will harm it. In fact, in order for the ficus to grow lush and healthy at home, periodic pruning is not only possible, but necessary.

Firstly, this is necessary for sanitary reasons: if broken or dry branches are not cut, they can cause the whole houseplant. Secondly, proper pruning helps to rejuvenate the ficus at home. Finally, the formation of the crown will make it more expressive. Moreover, you can not do without pruning if you want to grow.

Trimming time and tools

The time for pruning branches is selected depending on the purpose. If the task is the formation of a ficus and the desire to make it fluffy, you need to choose a period of active development of the plant in spring and summer. For indoor ficuses, this is most often March-July. Crown formation during the dormant period can make the plant skewed, as the shoots in the fall grow only where you pruned. In addition, branches that grow in autumn draw juices from the plant “stored” for the winter and can weaken it.

You can not cut off healthy sprouts to form a crown if you have recently had a transplant. But sanitary pruning of damaged branches should be done immediately, without waiting for a special time, and it should become an obligatory part of the care.

To cut a green pet, you will need large and small garden shears and a pruner or a knife (for different thicknesses of homemade ficus branches). Do not forget about disinfectants, since it is impossible to properly cut the ficus without them: before cutting the branches, the tools must be treated with alcohol, and garden pitch is suitable for processing the cut points.

When cutting a plant, you need to use sharply sharpened tools: if the cut is uneven and “soaked”, bacteria can penetrate through it.

Sanitary pruning

To ensure the flower is correct at home, you need to periodically inspect it - this way you will immediately find damaged or starting to dry branches. True, some deciduous ficus varieties expose branches only by autumn, only at this time allowing you to notice diseased areas. In any case, according to the conditions of proper pruning, you need to get rid of them immediately, otherwise they can spread the disease to the entire plant.

In addition, I cut off old and weakened branches, as they become “easy prey” for pests and infections. It is necessary to shorten such a branch, completely capturing the damaged area. If a diseased shoot grows from the ground, it must be cut at soil level.

Sooner or later, all ficuses begin to need such care.

Anti-aging pruning

Let's consider how to cut a ficus for a rejuvenating purpose. It is necessary to resort to such circumcision more often if the flower or top of the ficus has suffered due to the cold in the house or has begun to dry out for other reasons.

You can make the ficus again begin to give a lot of new growth by cutting off all the branches and leaving only a bare stump. Such pruning of the ficus will give impetus to the emergence of new shoots coming from the roots. Dwarf domestic ficuses respond well to it.

For ficus with long shoots, on which the foliage begins to dry out due to too dry air or heat, we cut off the branches almost completely, leaving no more (but no less) 2 buds on each. After that, many cuttings grow, allowing both to grow a new “pet”, if you use a cut branch, and to form a magnificent beautiful crown of the old one.

Finally, we will learn how to form a beautiful ficus crown.

Crown formation is a creative activity. Before you form a plant, you need to think about the shape of the top and how tall the plant should be. Correct shaping on ficuses is not done too often, so you need to take into account all the details so as not to make a mistake. Let's take a look at the rules.

To make the shape of the plant beautiful, the cut is made strictly above the place where the future apical bud is located: a new shoot on the ficus grows from it, and if you leave the “bare” part of the cutting, this will give the plant an unpleasantly plucked appearance.

When pruning, you need to take into account the rule that on thick old branches the cut should be beveled at an angle of 45 degrees, and on thin ones - straight.

If there are too many internal ficus shoots, they can be thinned out so that it is lush. To do this, when cutting, pay attention to the location of the upper kidney: it should be directed outward. Horizontally or vertically - depends on whether you want to achieve crown growth in width or its height.

To make the plant especially beautiful, choose one of the classic forms - tiered, in the form of a geometric figure, etc. Forming the top of a beautiful ficus, you can "peep" the techniques and forms of bonsai and copy them without even making the plant small, since these " pets” are very malleable. A tree with an originally formed trunk will ideally fit into a room or office interior.
To get beautiful young plants, you can use stem shaping. How to form a stem correctly? This is done by cutting off all the shoots, except for the five at the top. Estimate in advance what the height should be. When the ficus has grown to the desired size, the upper bud is from the top, and then you need to cut and shorten the side shoots - this is how we form a neat circle. The tier can be not only one upper; specialists can form up to three "floors". So you can only work with young ficuses.

If you decide in advance to transplant and grow several plants together, you can cut them so that the crown seems to be one. This is especially important in cases where a composition is formed with beautifully intertwined trunks. When on a houseplant, all side shoots are also removed.

To make the crown especially lush, in the form of a bush, you can cut off the top of an adult plant and then use tweezing, which consists in periodically cutting the shoots from above, which activates the lateral buds. Proper tweezing is carried out subject to the deadlines, that is, in the spring or during the summer.

A pruned plant needs special care, often additional watering and. Immediately after you cut the branches, the plant cannot be transplanted, it must move away from the "stress".

When a home bonsai is grown and the cutting is transplanted into a small container, the roots of the plant are also subject to formation: with the right approach, too long must be removed, like most of the tops.

If you have made the correct cut of the branches in compliance with all conditions, the crown of the plant will be lush and your pet will be admired by both home and guests.

Video "Correct pruning of ficus"

From this video you will learn how to properly cut a ficus at home.

Rubber ficus occupies a prominent place in an apartment, office or public institution. Rubber-bearing or elastic, and also rubber, it is called because its juice flowing from the wounds freezes and resembles a substance such as rubber or latex in this form.

In India, the homeland of this tree, it grows to a huge size, covering up to 250-300 square meters with the shadow of its crown. On the basis of this tree, breeders bred a small and convenient tree for placement. And to make it look compact and exotic, a system for trimming its crown has been developed.

Having become better acquainted with this representatives of the mulberry family, every fan of indoor plants will take up the cultivation of ficus.

Similar to this tree are:

Fig or fig, fig tree;
Mulberry or mulberry, mulberry;
Breadfruit;
Cow tree, reminiscent of the taste of milk;
Paper tree, from which paper of the highest quality is produced;
Anchar or upas - a poisonous representative of the mulberry family, the hero of a poem by A.S. Pushkin.

Few home growers call ficus rubber-bearing - just ficus. Indoors, the height of the plant is regulated by pruning, and depending on the tastes of the owners, it can be from 1 to 2 meters, although in its homeland the tree reaches the height of a 10-story building. A young tree in the jungle grows very quickly and forms aerial roots.

In India, and in our country, ficus is considered a tree of well-being and prosperity. Ficus, according to home flower growers, perfectly cleans the air in the room from germs and bacteria.

The leaves of a young plant are pinkish in color, acquire a dense green color with age, petiolate, arranged alternately on the stem. Their size is up to 35 cm in length and up to 25 in width. Ficus does not bloom indoors.

pruning ficus

When grown indoors, the plant requires crown-forming pruning. If you cut only the top of the tree, there will be no effect. The ficus does not branch, and the cut off upper bud will grow in one direction. The plant will be one-sided and will not decorate the room.

Trimming time

The rubber-bearing ficus is cut off in early March to form a beautiful crown, at which time the rapid vegetation of the tree begins.

A properly performed pruning operation in early spring will awaken the axillary buds, which in turn will give rise to lateral branches.

If, for some reason, it was not possible to cut the plant at the beginning of spring, this event is carried out only if it is urgently necessary, if the ficus quickly began to gain growth.

During winter or late autumn pruning, one single upper bud will awaken, which will give the ficus a one-sided shape, and the decorative effect of the plant will suffer significantly from this.

Crown care rules

For competent spring pruning, the tool must be sharply sharpened and disinfected;
From the top of the plant are separated from 3 to 5 leaves, approximately 20 cm;
The thin stem should be cut parallel to the soil in the pot, above the top bud. If the stem is thick, the cut is made at an angle of 40-45 degrees;
When cutting side shoots, they must be cut without hemp, as rot and mold may appear on it;
The juice on the cut is removed with a clean napkin, and the cut itself is treated with antiseptic and antifungal drugs, for example, trichodermin;
When the lateral buds begin to grow, it is better to transplant the rubbery ficus into another, more voluminous dish. Transplantation is performed one month after circumcision.

Important! The juice of the rubbery ficus is poisonous, pruning and other work with the plant is carried out using protective equipment (rubber gloves, glasses).

Features of growing ficus

There is no doubt that the plant is grown indoors because of its decorative effect, that is, a beautiful crown. And in order for this part of the ficus to really please the eye, you must not forget about such things:

Indoors, plant heights of more than 2 meters are not allowed, and ficus is not happy with side shoots. A flower can develop quickly if it is provided with a growth of 30-40 centimeters per year;
The exterior of the plant is mainly in its glossy large leaves, which can have an even dark green color or a variegated white-green pattern;
Ficus is unlikely to bloom indoors, it needs pollination by exotic insects.

Lighting

Since the birthplace of the plant is India, the country is warm and humid, the ficus loves diffused light and high humidity. It is advisable to place pots with plants near their eastern western windows. If the flower is placed in partial shade, its growth will be rather slow, and at the same time, leaves will fall off at the bottom of the stem.

Attention! When placing a ficus indoors, you do not need to place it in a draft.

Temperature

The optimal indicators of the temperature regime are:

During active vegetation - 20-25 0 С;
In winter, ficus is quite enough 15 0 C, but not lower.

The soil

Rubber ficus loves well-loosened soil with proper drainage. The soil is prepared from peat, turf, sand, leafy soil.

But you can also buy a substrate in a flower shop, called "soil for palm trees."

Watering and fertilizing

Ficus should be watered as the soil in the pot dries. The frequency of the procedure is determined by the air temperature and its humidity in the room. Excess moisture in the soil causes shedding of leaves. And with insufficient air humidity, systematic spraying or wiping the leaves with a damp cloth is necessary.

For water procedures with ficus, it is better to use rain or snow water. Feed the plant with a complex fertilizer with a high nitrogen content.

How a dense ficus crown is formed.

When the owners of the plant want to achieve an extensive, dense crown, do the following:

The main stem of the ficus is bent down and pinched until the upper bud sprouts;
The main stem is pierced with a needle to a third of its diameter, piercing lower each time.

Diseases and pests of ficus

The plant is resistant to the visit of harmful insects, but the spider mite and scale insect can covet large beautiful leaves.

You can kill them with insecticides or a solution of laundry soap.

Pathogenic diseases ficus practically do not touch.

reproduction

Growing a young ficus is easy. The cuttings obtained during pruning are germinated and planted in prepared containers. This procedure is well known to every home gardener.

If the plant began to grow weakly, the leaves turn yellow and fall, the owner is to blame, in this case the ficus is not enough:

lighting;
Fertilizers (top dressing);
Space in the pot for root development.

The crown of most varieties of ficus without pruning will grow in a chaotic manner, reaching sizes that are not suitable for the room. Timely removal of lateral and apical shoots allows you to give the plant a decorative effect, reduce its length and width, and make it more compact.

Pruning and formation of rubber ficus is carried out depending on the age of the plant annually or once every 3 years. In addition to forming pruning, you can use the feature of the plant's shoots to create unique compositions - flexible stems and air layering are tied with a pigtail, tourniquet, intertwined and direct growth in the opposite direction.

Is it possible to cut rubber ficus

Pruning rubber ficus is needed not only to give the tree a decorative effect, but also to improve the plant. It is necessary to remove excess shoots regularly so that it is healthy, lush, leaves and stems have enough room to grow, all above-ground parts of the bush receive enough light and humidity from the air.

Branches are also removed for sanitary purposes - diseased, rotten, dry, broken branches draw out nutrients, taking them from healthy parts, and can also reduce immunity and cause diseases.

With the help of formative pruning, ficus can be forced to branch or grow compactly. The florist himself determines which crown diameter is suitable for growing in rooms of different sizes.

How to form a rubber ficus crown

You need to cut the ficus in accordance with the following rules:

The formation of the crown is carried out in the phase of active development from the beginning of spring to the end of summer. If you remove the shoots in winter, the next season the plant will be deformed.
If the ficus has recently been transplanted, it is impossible to touch healthy sprouts when creating a crown. Sanitary pruning can be done at any time.
It will be bad if you cut off the apical shoot far from the second kidney from the top. In this case, the bare remaining part of the trunk dies off. If you take away the apical shoot along with the buds late, the ficus will not bloom. It is optimal to remove the apical shoot from the second kidney from the top, leaving no “empty” parts of the trunk.
Be sure to use sharp tools. If the cut is uneven, pathogenic bacteria can enter the tissue. You can take a pruner, garden shears or a sharp knife. Before trimming, it is advisable to treat all blades with alcohol or other disinfectants.
The cut points on the handle also need processing, a garden pitch is suitable for this.

You can create a crown in the following way:

Think about what shape you want to give the whole plant, and indicate the approximate height and width. Young plants can be pruned annually, and if the ficus has already reached 3-4 years, carry out the procedure no more than once every 3 years.
Make a cut exactly above the place where the apical kidney will be. A fresh shoot grows from it, and if part of the cutting is exposed, then the crown will not have a rounded appearance, since the exposed trunk gradually dies off.
Make the cut beveled at an angle of at least 45 degrees on old thick branches, on thin shoots - at an angle of 90 degrees.
The crown can not only be cut, but also thinned out. During the procedure, pay attention to the localization of the upper kidney. Make sure it points outward. If you leave the bud horizontal, the branches will grow in width, vertically in height.
The classic form for trimming the crown is longline. The ficus will have the shape of a ball or oval. To do this, the top and bottom of the crown are cut equally, leave the central branches longer. The lowest branches and the apical shoot are cut off at the root.
Ficuses also grow in the form of a trunk. To form such a crown, cut off all the shoots, except for the five located at the top of the trunk. When the plant reaches the desired height, pinch the top bud from the top, then shorten the side trunks as they grow, forming a ball.

When growing a bonsai tree, it is necessary to form not only the crown, but also the root system. Too long roots are removed during the annual transplant, the tops and side shoots are cut off so that the height of the plant does not exceed 50-70 cm.

How to pinch a ficus

In order to pinch the plant, you will need a pruner or knife, a disinfectant solution (peroxide, alcohol), a soft cloth and a container of water.

Then follow the instructions:

It is best to perform the procedure in the middle of spring. It is during this period that many new shoots are formed, and the wounds on the trunk that appear during pruning heal quickly.
As soon as the plant has reached the height you need, you can pinch. Disinfect a knife or other tool or bake it over a fire.
If the upper shoot of the tree is thin, you can cut it below the bud by making a straight cut.
If the length is longer than you need, determine the required height, then find the sheet below that point. Cut the shoot 5 cm above such a leaf, making an oblique cut. The lower level of the cut will be at the level of the kidney on the opposite side. Upper - directly above the kidney.
Then moisten a soft cloth and remove the milky juice that appeared along the cut.
Fertilize the plant after a month. Before this period, fertilizing is not recommended, since the plant's immunity drops out after transplantation, it may experience stress.

Pinching will allow the plant to produce new side shoots and stop growth at the height you want. Without this, the tree will hit the ceiling in 4-5 years.

Creating unusual shapes

The formation of the crown of the rubber-bearing ficus can be performed not only in the form of an oval or a ball. There are other pruning methods that can result in trees with unique shapes for interior design.

stem tree

Formation of rubber ficus at home in the form of a bole:

A standard form can only be created from an unformed ficus without lignification on the trunks.
Lateral shoots need to be removed regularly until the top 5 branches remain.
When the tree reaches the desired height, pinch the apical shoot, remembering to remove the lateral processes.
While the stems remain flexible and without bark, it is necessary to organize a backup. Keep the trunk upright throughout the growth period.

The stem can be multi-tiered. For such a crown formation, divide it into 4-5 parts. From the odd ones, make the tiers of the crown, and from the even ones - the gaps between the tiers, for which the shoots are cut 5-7 cm shorter than the rest.

small fence

A rubber-bearing ficus hedge can be made as follows:

pick up at least 5-7 seedlings and a long low capacity for planting;
place all seedlings in a pallet in one row or in a circle, the distance between the shoots should be at least 10 cm;
the fence is formed from the crown - cut at the same height.

It is important to properly trim the ficus for the growth of the "fence". During the procedure, remove the shoots in the same parts of the trunk so that the ficus crowns are equally thick and there are no gaps in the “fence”.

Spiral

To form a bonsai in the form of a spiral, it is not the crown that is cut, but the root aerial part and trunks:

after planting the cutting, install a support - a wooden stick - in the center of the pot next to the stem;
as you grow, braid the flexible stem around the support;
cut side branches;
when a good stiffness of the trunk appears, carefully remove the support.

You can create a spiral from one or more shoots. If you plant 2-4 seedlings at once, during the braiding of the support, they must be placed parallel to each other so that there is no pinching of the trunks of one of the trees.

Spit

You can give the ficus the shape of a pigtail as follows:

pick seedlings up to 10 cm long (same height);
the thickness of one should not exceed one and a half centimeters;
plant sprouts in a pot nearby so that in the future you can braid the stems into a braid;
all small branches on the sides are removed, apical cuttings remain;
before you start weaving, moisten the soil so that the stems become flexible;
periodically braid a braid from the stems, tie the end of it with wire so that the stems do not start growing in the other direction;
it is necessary to regulate the strength of weaving - weakly twisted stems will create gaps in the pigtail, and too tight weaving can damage the entire plant;
so that the holes in the pigtails are the same, you can place pencils or sticks of equal diameter between them.

So that the shoots grow together into one large trunk and the pigtail does not have gaps, you can remove the bark in small parts at the joints of the stems. After about 6-8 months, the composition of the post will grow together into one thick trunk.

Plant care after pruning

After pruning, the ficus can be transplanted, but the procedure can be performed no earlier than after 2 weeks. An adult plant does not need to be transplanted at all, it will be enough to change the top layer of soil to a new nutrient substrate. If the flower transferred the procedure successfully, after 2 weeks you can start feeding.

Pruning can be done no earlier than from the beginning of March until the end of summer. At rest, the plant is not pruned. Watch the growth of new branches, as well as the height of the ficus, by timely pinching so that it always has a lush, uniform crown.

You will need

- sharp knife or secateurs;
-alcohol, peroxide and any other disinfectant solution;
- soft cloth
- basin with water.

Instruction

The best time to pinch ficus is spring. It is in the spring that new shoots form most quickly. Wounds, which are inevitable with such procedures, heal quite easily in the spring. This reduces the risk of plant disease. Therefore, before the end of February or the beginning of March, the plant should not be touched.

Wait until the ficus reaches the optimum height. Disinfect your knife. It can be wiped with alcohol or doused with hydrogen peroxide. The knife must be very sharp, since the ficus trunk is quite difficult to cut. You can ignite the knife over the fire for several minutes. Pinching can be done in two ways. If you are satisfied with the current height of the ficus and at the same time its upper shoot is thin enough, cut it off just below the growth point. In this case, you can make a straight cut.

Too large ficus must be cut differently. Determine the desired height and find a leaf or branch that is below this point. Cut the ficus 5-8 cm above this leaf. The cut in this case should be oblique. Its bottom is at the level of the kidney, on the opposite side of the trunk. The top of the cut should be directly above the kidney.

Use a soft cloth soaked in water to wipe off the milky juice from the trunk. The rag cannot be wringed out, it must be thrown away. The water itself will stop the further secretion of the juice. The ficus does not require any more treatment of wounds, they will perfectly heal themselves.

Wait a month and feed the ficus. After feeding, it should begin to grow rapidly. You can transplant it into a pot of a larger diameter (so that the old pot freely enters the new one). But this can not be done, it is enough to change part of the soil in the first year. After the first successful operation, you can continue to form the crown of the ficus. To do this, pinch the side shoots in the same way next spring.

note

Ficus juice is poisonous. It is better to pinch and cut this plant with gloves. Try not to get the milky juice on the mucous membranes of the nose and mouth.

Keep in mind that after pruning and pinching, the ficus trunk does not grow.

Useful advice

When starting to form a crown, keep in mind that not all ficuses tolerate this well. Wounds usually heal quickly, but not all plants develop side shoots easily. Therefore, watch the ficus before pinching the next shoots. If it is your ficus that does not particularly want to branch, you can make a lush crown in another way. Just plant several cuttings in one pot.