Help with pruning!

What a fantastic forum I have been browsing around for ages reading and learning .... I have a hope now I think of possibly growing my indoor plants a little more successfully :)

Today I acquired a large Schefflera plant 'ubrella tree' .... it is quite large and gorgeous and healthy (score!!) .... it was a few inches tall in the 50's so this plant has been kicking it for some time already. I want to prune it and I have done alot of reading both here and on google about that but was hoping maybe for some first hand experience and advise.

I am wondering should I wait for the plant to 'get used' to its new home first? Is it the wrong time of year .... I live on the west coast of Canada and we are mid winter (thought that with indoor it might not matter).

and also how much hacking can it really stand it has long lengthy branches on top the bottom has alot of foliage .... I can include a pic if it is easier to get what I mean just let me know. I want to start training it to grow more compact but of course keeping it large.

I am just not sure how to approach it, slowly? all at once? I dont want to do it really wrong and end up stunting its growth etc ....

Seriously thank you to anyone who answers!! Fantastic :)

Jen

It would help if you could post a picture--I think it'll be easier for someone to make suggestions if they can see the plant.

I answered a similar question today about cutting back a dracaena hard. Here is my reply, and it applies to your questions as well: when cutting back a plant hard, what the plant will comfortably tolerate, and what you can get away with is largely dependant on the current vitality and where the plant is in its growth cycle. Temperate plants that utilize the protective mechanism of dormancy can be cut back hard during the winter dormant period, but extensive reductions, both above and below the soil line, are best performed in summer on tropicals/subtropicals (houseplants), when the plant has good energy reserves and cultural conditions are conducive to rapid recovery.

If/when your tree is bursting with energy and the timing is right, you can literally cut it back to within an inch of the soil, leaving nothing but a short stub of a trunk, and expect the tree to regain its equilibrium and recover; perhaps not exactly as the tree you knew, but in terms of vitality and growth, it should be fine. As a bonsai practitioner for more than 20 years, I have treated hundreds of various species in such fashion and realized the expected results. This is a common practice, called a 'trunk chop', and is used to help us build rapid taper into the trunk so the tree looks both old and natural. If, though, your plant is stressed and its vitality not what it should be, you're forced to do your pruning in small steps to avoid a 'wobble' in the trees energy flow it cannot recover from. Your job is, and your focus should be, to be willing to make the effort to provide the cultural conditions that keep the tree growing robustly, so you CAN move it along quickly to achieve your vision of what you'd like it to be.

It would be a good idea to hold tight and refrain from any significant pruning at this time, either above or below the soil line. In addition to it being an 'out-of-season' effort that carries the assurance that the recovery period would be lengthy, the plant may react unfavorably in coming weeks if the light in its new home is not as bright as its former location by shedding some of it's leaves.

There is much more to maintaining healthy trees in containers than one might at first expect. The necessity that most people are ignorant of (in the classic sense) is the need to maintain (prune) the roots and ensure the serviceability of the soil on a regular basis. We can leave that for another time, along with discussion about other cultural aspects if you're interested, but soil and root maintenance are very important keys to longevity and vitality.

Take care.

Al