I have a major predicament that I need advise on my tree. as of now I've had this tree for about 6 mnths, I pruned it back when I brought it home and did some defoliation about a month ago to let more light through.my problem is that the base till about 8 inches up the trunk was expertly trained but the top has been let go. the branches are too long and the knot on top has to be refined ,but I'm not sure how to go about it.
I'm considering doing a major cut above the small branches in front loosing the whole crown or maybe just the right side of the top inch n a half
I'm leaning toward the first option and starting the crown fresh but I'm not sure if I should just lob the top off or slowly over time remove the upper branches. the crown extends 2 inches beyond the top of the pic and contains 60-70% of the foliage. the tree is in an active growing state for about 2 mnths, there are many new shoots and new roots are showing at the edges of the nebari
I bought this tree for the nebari the pic doesnt do them justice so ill deal w/ having an ugly tree for a while I jst don't want to kill it cuz I think I would cry
please help, your knowledge and opinions will be greatly appreciated
p.s this is the tree w/ the little snails in it
[img]https://i1230.photobucket.com/albums/ee498/manofthetrees/ficus.jpg[/img]
I took a quick look ,but no question answer forum 
I'm sure this will be a wealth of knowlegde
well my ficus is coming along great .the summer outside did wonders for leaf size and it has ramified quite nicely.I have recently did some light pruning ,I was getting some backbudding so I cut back the summer growth to give them more stength the wires stayed on exept for the 2 newer ones that were cutting in...hope you enjoy the update