Question
QUESTION: hi there.. i rescued a tropical plant years back and it has done well in my home- i think its a ficus.. with three separate skinny trees, the middle one at a 8 feet now and touching the ceiling, causing the leaves to brown.. it looks like a skinny version of a palm tree. what do i do? how do i safely cut it or can i ? whats my options.. i hate to lose any of it , but its obviously suffering now. pls help

ANSWER: Hi Sharon, it needs to be pruned way back! get yourself a pair of hand trimmers, and shape it as you cut it back, don't worry you can't really hurt it, its a real resilient plant and will actually react well to it by filling out.  Initially it may look pretty Charlie Brown like, in comparison to what it was, but it will bounce back just fine, so go to it, and have fun!..Nick

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QUESTION: Hi and thanks for your reply.. but when you say "prune back" what do you mean... the plant is basically three skinny stalks.  with long skinny leaves coming off of them.. it doesnt have individual branches .To make it fit the ceiling i would have to cut the trunk? i am confused.

ANSWER: ok, we have to determine what it is then, it doesn't sound like a Ficus,,it probably is a Dracaena Marginata; research Dracaena Marginata and let me know if this is it, then we will address it:)

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QUESTION: Hi again .. Yes it is absolutely a  Dracaena Marginata.. i googled the name and a picture of what it looks like was right there.. of course smaller..three individual stalks, the biggest in the middle and hitting my ceiling.. You are terrific.. thanks... any thoughts?

Answer
Ahhh, ok now we can push on here...(and thanks for the compliment!:))..they only thing you can do when they get leggy like that is cut them back about 2 feet below the last frond and stick that cutting right next to the stem you cut it from....it will root itself and start a new plant; now the bare stem may or may not send out new growth from the cut, if it doesn't, then it needs to be cut back to soil level, and the top portion that you cut off and stuck in the soil will become the new plant. Thats about all you can do Sharon, but it will look better then it does now...remember, when you cut the top portion off, do it where you want the old one to be height wise, I would cut it in half so the new plant (top portion) and the bare stem are the same height....good luck! Nick