Some guidance required

[Benno]

Hi All
I have been wondering what to do with my fig and came across this forum recently, there is a wealth of information on here and I have some bonsai books as well but I wanted to run my plan past someone with more experience before I take the plunge as I am a beginner.
I acquired this fig from the local bonsai shop about 3 years ago where I potted it under guidance into it's current pot and shape. It's only my second bonsai and the first is no longer with me, RIP. Since then we have had two children and I haven't done much with it except keep it watered and the odd dose of slow release fertiliser. I have noticed the roots getting a little out of control so I bought a bigger pot the other day (you can see it in the photos).
So my plan is as follows.

Remove the tree from current pot, trim roots and repot in larger pot.
Allow tree to recover for 6-8 weeks before defoliating and possibly trimming some branches.

The second part is where I'm really unsure what to do, having seen some of the figs on here I would like to try and get more foliage on top but I'm not sure what branches I should or shouldn't cut.

Any guidance will be greatly received.

Sorry I couldn't attach the photos, I don't think I'm allowed, hopefully links work.

Thanks

Ben

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[Josh]

I have never done much with figs but if you use the search function on here it will give you world of information. There is a thread on fast growth method for figs. Your tree does look hungry to me. Personally (and as I said I don't do a lot with figs) it looks like it needs to go into a larger grow pot rather than a bonsai pot and get fed well to put on extra growth. This will give you more branching and better options for the future.
Someone with more fig experience might offer better advice but that would be my plan going forward.
Oh, and by the way....WELCOME.

Josh.

[Drac0]

I would leave it a couple of weeks for the weather to settle down - the warmer the better with figs. Fertilise now with a liquid fert like Powerfeed / Nitrosol / etc & then again in another week. As long as the tree is healthy, the following week you will be able re-pot, trim the roots (if really needed) & defoliate all at once. Remove all leaves & the growing tips to force some back budding which will give you much more choice of direction later. Then give regular feeds of Seasol for the next month or so, no fertiliser!. You should get plenty of new growth in 4-6 weeks or so.

Other, more experienced members may have a different opinion, this is just my worth.

Cheers

[Paulneill]

I agree that. This little tree would benifite from a large grow box or even better planted in the ground and just left to thicken up . If it it's left in this pot it will not change much and take a very long time to develop .

[Benno]

Thanks for the advice so far, I have read a few posts on here about figs and have learnt much from them already but hadn't found the specific information I needed. I have read the posts about fast growing figs and while I may look into this in the future at the moment I want to gain experience with growing in a bonsai pot. I have no specific goals or timelines for this guy other than to try and keep him healthy and growing more foliage would be nice but not critical.
Ben