AusBonsai

Hey all.
What pruning does anyone do on their ficus bonsai in development in early summer? Or do you let it get strong and prune in autumn. Im in sydney and and most trees are still developing first branching and structure
Cheere

for me----If I'm outside without a jumper on and i feel warm I do some fig work -- before the above 35+ deg heat comes in

It really depends on the size of the material you are working on. If it’s a stick I do absolutely nothing. If it’s reached height, girth I’m happy with then ramification of branches. Repot, defoliate, feed during summer. Figs love this time of year. For you in Sydney that’s now and probably has been for a couple of months, you have a longer season than we do in Melbourne. Post some pics of what your working on for better advice.
Cheers
Kirky

I agree that it depends on how far along your branch development is.
In the first few years I generally let branches grow most of summer and cut back once. That allows main branches to thicken and start secondary branching.
In following years I cut several times a year to add more secondary and start tertiary branches.
Then move to more regular trimming to promote more structure and reduce leaf size.

There's not really any defined start or end to stages. Everyone will have a different idea of timing and most ways will work out.