Defoliating?

[Luke]

i'm defoliating my Ficus rubiginosa... do i also remove the buds (rolled up leaves) at the end of the branches??

thanks
luke

[Espresso]

Yes pinch or cut off the growing tips as well

[Luke]

thanks

[shibui]

Removing the bud at the tip is important when defoliating. This causes the dormant buds in the axils (base of leave stalks) to shoot giving more shoots along the branches. If the tip bud is left it will grow as big as ever but the ones below often don't shoot.
To get smaller leaves without defoliating remove the sheath from the immature buds - take a bud between thumb and forefinger and twist gently. The sheath that is protecting the bud should pop off and the immature new leaf will unroll at whatever size it has already reached rather than continuing to grow inside the sheath and opening up later much bigger.
Hope that explanation makes sense. Much easier to show than describe.