Ficus tree pruning needs to take place when the plant is no longer actively growing. Most plants are vegetatively active in spring and summer, with growth dying down in fall. ... Therefore, winter is the best time for trimming ficus trees. You can prune out dead material at any time during the year.

How much can I trim ficus tree?

Don't prune more than 30% of your ficus at a time.

Too much pruning can throw your tree into shock and leave it vulnerable to diseases. Limit yourself to removing less than 30% of your ficus's foliage and branch structure at a time.

What do you do with an overgrown ficus?

Take the ficus out of its pot. Cut back the roots by a third, knock off some of the soil, replace in same pot, add fresh soil. Take off a third to one half of the plant growth. Just trim back to nodes on each stem and take off what looks out of place.