Question
We're in south Louisiana. In Nov. 07, we inherited, from previous homeowners, a large(6ft) potted, braided ficus that's approx 10yrs old and has always been kept outside. This winter the temperature dropped below 30 a few times and even though we covered the tree, it seems most of it died.  Recently, we noticed a sprout come from the bottom and it's now 3ft high.  The rest of the tree seems dead. How far down/back should we prune the tree? The pot is very large and it has tree roots growing out of the bottom.  Should we repot this now or wait until sprout is bigger? Please help, we really want to save this tree. Thanks. Patricia

Answer
Hi Patricia, it sounds like it froze back to ground level, but the roots are still viable; I would cut back all of the dead crown, leaving just the root ball and the new growth, they are pretty tough trees, so don't be too concerned about messing it up, then give it a couple of months to establish a good crown, and then repot it. Nick