Hi Bedtime, I too prefer one, solo trunk opposed to multi trunks. The answer to your question, 'if I pruned the other trunks wouldn't they just grow right back?' The answer is YES, but if you continue pruning, new growth eventually stops, but, takes time. Patience is necessary. :) The object is to select the strongest and straightest trunk. Remove extra trunks. Perhaps, unpotting your Ficus, then pruning excess trunks and roots 'deep as possible', will slow down new growth. Stake and tie solo trunk so it stands erect. Ironically, the strongest and straightest trunk is usually nearest the edge of pot. lol. Saturate soil until water seeps from drainage holes. I use a product called Superthrive, so a few drops per gallon of water should do. ST works well with newly potted plants, cuttings, seedlings, etc. Last, half-strength fertilizer, which can be mixed with ST. BTW, If you're certain you want to continue with this project, begin when Ficus/Rubber Tree produces new growth. Working on a dormant plant is a no-no. Last summer, I Solo'ized, lol, my two Rubber Trees. One green, one variegated. I'll try posting pics. BTW, they do not look like show plants. lol. Variegated, before...pic was taken 2009 Variegated and green, After Variegated RT trunk isn't very straight. I figured, after the trunk grew a little taller I'd cut below curve. Good luck, Bedtime..... Toni

Update: I realized that I was allowing myself to become very stressed over this plant and so I decided that it is okay to lose a plant now and then, and it must inevitably happen to someone on the path to garden mastery! So here's what happened: Since the top portion of each stalk was by far the healthiest part and hadn't started visibly degrading yet I figured that now would be a good time to try and propagate. I cut off about 6 inches or so from each stalk, removed the bottom leaves of each cutting, and cut the top two leaves down to half-size. I coated the bottom of each stalk with honey and then planted them in a freshly mixed, and moistened 3:1:1 of bark, peat, perlite. Then I covered them with a clear plastic bag (from the produce section!) put a small stake in the center, and sealed the bag. The stake holds the bag up and I could see condensation forming almost right away. It is now sitting comfortably in a warm, shaded position and I will check on it in a month or so. (I will check for moisture levels in ~2 weeks. Now instead of experiencing feelings of failure and dread at losing a plant, I am full of optimism and hope that my cuttings will become beautiful, healthy plants! I also repotted the parent plants and cut the roots down to about 1/2. They all looked healthy still so I am now beginning to suspect nutrient deficiency and underwatering as the culprits. I have some Dyna Gro Foliage Pro arriving tomorrow which I am very excited to use from now on. Not sure if I should continue with the seaweed/plankton liquid I have been using or not. So for now, I am happy and content with what I have learned and will post pics whenever anything exciting happens! This leaves me with one lingering question... What soil mix should I use for my tropical plants? Philo, calathea, arrowhead. Is 5:1:1 good for them? Or should I lean more towards 3:1:1? I'd love to repot soon (next weekend) once I am confident in the formula. Thank you all and happy gardening!

Hi again @tropicofcancer (6b SW-PA) ! I cut a square of mesh from an onion bag I had, worked great, thanks! You were right, not much root development, so I made sure to trim only a little bit and was able to repot late Friday night. I waited until Saturday morning to flush with water and then set it outside on my fire escape. Unfortunately, the fire escape is the only place I could leave my plants outside. A couple of further questions: When will it be okay for this guy to get direct sun again? I haven't watered it since Saturday. When should I water next? Or better yet, does it need to stay moist while it is getting acclimated? 2/3 stems are slanted. Should I stake them straight up? In one of the pics below, I circled the "wrinkling" that appeared on 2 of the stems while in the previous soil mix. Is this due to salt pulling water from the stems? How could I help the 2 stems recover from the trauma? Does this mean the roots will no longer take up water? Does this mean the roots are vulnerable to sunburn? Hypothetically, if I would have removed the bottom leaves, which were the first to show signs of salt/mineral trauma, would that have slowed down the traveling of the salt/minerals upwards? I am asking this because 1 of the 3 stems does not show any signs of wrinkling on its' stem. This stem also had a combo of more root development and fewer leaves. Not sure if there is a correlation there but I found it interesting and wanted to see if anyone could chime in with the science behind what is going on there. In another picture below I circled I think is called the apical meristem (PLEASE correct me if I am wrong). This stem in particular is in the worst shape of the 3. I noticed the shealth was extremely crunchy and hard - - Is this also a result of the salt/mineral build-up? Or a nutrient deficiency perhaps? Or is it the surrounding environment that causes this in plants? The plant doesn't have any signs of shock from the repot (yet). I am holding my breath but so far, so good. I apologize for all of the questions - - I am just very curious! Thanks for reading all this if you have made it this far lol roots: roots cont'd: my outside oasis aka fire escape: close up after the repot: What does the shriveling circled below mean? too much of a slant here? Should I stake it straight up? Crunchy apical meristem(?) :

The dead leaf margins are symptomatic of the plant's inability to move water to its most distal parts. That occurs from over-watering, under-watering, and/or a high level of salts in the soil (solution). Why it occurs from under-watering is self evident. Over-watering limits the roots' oxygen supply so root's cannot function normally, and sets the stage for fungal infections that wreck root health. So in a sea of plenty, your plant can die of thirst. Your plant should never be allowed to sit in the effluent (waste water) that exits the drain hole, and it looks as though that might be occurring. When you water, it's best to water from the top until the entire soil mass is completely saturated and at least 15-20% of the container's volume has exited the drain hole. It's best to water in the sink, allow the plant to drain, then return it to the cache pot or the collection saucer. If you can't/don't want to water at the sink, at least raise your pot above the bottom of the collection saucer so there's no pathway by which the salt-laden water you flush from the pot can make its way back into the soil.Water moves in and out of plant cells by way of osmosis. Simply put, water moves toward a higher concentration of salts. Too much salt in the soil (solution) makes it more difficult for the plant to absorb water. Salt can even build up to the point where the process of osmosis is reversed - so water is pulled OUT of cells by the same mechanism curing salts create to pull water from ham/bacon/lunch meat cells. This results in collapse/death of the cells, and is called plasmolysis (commonly called fertilizer burn). The short of it is, you need to get your watering under control by ensuring the entire soil mass is saturated when you water, and not too much water remains in the soil. The later can be achieved by watering more often, changing to a more productive medium - one you don't need to fight constantly for control over your plant's vitality, or through some very simply (as in monkey-easy) scientific tricks to force water from the soil. I think it's ok to soak the entire pot in a tub until the entire soil mass is rehydrated, but it's not the best long term approach. As noted, watering from above is a more effective way to flush accumulating salts from the medium. You might like this. Al