Ficus are naturally plants that blend beautifully in your interior and have the ability to make many leaves that will look great in any interior.
So admittedly, this requires a minimum of maintenance and if you mess up, you may find yourself having to prune a bald ficus as we explained to you in one of our previous articles.
But if you start to understand how ficus trees work, you shouldn't have too many problems with this point of view and you should even start to be pretty good with these plants.
From then on, you may have the idea of taking a step forward and why not try to prune a ficus into a ball. If so, we'll explain how to do it as simply as possible.
Ficus - General information
There are a whole bunch of different ficus trees on the market, each with characteristics that will look better on some people than on others. This is why we invite you to discover them all in our article on this subject.
Cut a ficus into a ball with a wire mesh
As we will see, there are two techniques that will allow you to prune a ficus into a ball. Both work, but you have to admit that the first is the easiest to start.
Indeed, it does not require any special qualification and thanks to it you can easily achieve your goals without having to wait several months to try your luck following an error!
The principle of this technique is simple. It consists of buying a mesh template that you will be able to find in store. You can also build it in wire mesh at home.
Once it's done, place it all around the plant. It would be forced to grow with this element and therefore to adapt. It will then tend to grow in the shape of a ball and you will not even need to prune a ficus into a ball.
Indeed, all the work will be done by the plant itself and you will only have to do the finishing touches by cutting the leaves and stems that protrude from the wire mesh to give it a nice round shape.
Once the plant has hugged the contours of the fence, you can remove it and it will keep this shape. All you have to do is maintain your plant to keep it in shape.
How to cut a ficus into a ball by hand?
If you are here, it is because you have chosen technique number two to prune a ficus into a ball and know that if this is the first time you are doing it, you may be a little disappointed with the result.
Indeed, pruning a ficus in a loop can be complicated if you do not have the basics in pruning plants. However, if you do want to venture there, we'll show you how to do it.
There is no magic technique, you will have to apply the ball shape yourself by cutting shorter on the top and bottom of the leafy part and making a gradient on the side.
For this, what you will generally be advised to prune a ficus into a ball is to start at the top which will make your job easier later on. Then go down slowly and often take the time to see where you are.
Our advice for pruning your ficus
Pruning is an important stage in the life of your plant. It is not that complicated if you have the right technique but also the right tools.
Maintaining your ball
After having successfully pruned a ficus into a ball, your work will obviously not stop there! Indeed, as you can see on this video, it is important to take good care of the leaves.
If this is not the case, the dust will start to invite itself, which will gradually prevent the leaves of your ficus from breathing and which could eventually cause them to fall and therefore ruin all your efforts.
To prevent this from happening, there is a routine that we advise you to do, about once a week. It is to take a sprayer and fill it with water that you are going to spray.
Do it directly on the leaves, not the earth. Once it's done, you can use a microfiber cloth to remove all the dust. Keep in mind, however, that the sap of the ficus is toxic!
So watch out for children and pets around to make sure they won't lick the sap and potentially poison themselves. You yourself wear gloves.
How often should we prune it?
Finally, the last thing you need to see together is how often you are going to have to prune a ficus into a ball. The easiest way is then to maintain this ball from time to time.
Do not cut too much and especially not too often at the risk of tiring the plant which will then tend to lose its leaves. Instead, do a little touch-up every now and then and you shouldn't have to prune a looped ficus completely.
