Hello,

I have a golden gate ficus bonsai that is doing well outside this summer and I just had some additional questions after reading some of the general care instructions from multiple websites.

Leaf pruning:
It's my understanding that I should prune the leaves back to 2-4 after around 6-10 have grown on the branch. I have been cutting the furthest (from the trunk) 4-6 leaves on the branch off and leaving the closest 2-4 on the branch, leaving the entire branch intact and then letting the leaves grow back. Is this correct, or am I supposed to be cutting the actual branch itself and shortening said branch to the point that it only has 2-4 leaves? If I should be cutting the actual branch, won't that make the tree really stubby/butchered looking?

Is there any benefit to only cutting off the largest leaves on the tree and leaving all of the smallest ones regardless of their locations, or is it more effective to cut them all back to a certain point on their individual branches?

I did a complete defoliation at the end of spring, and the leaves are all coming back nicely. Should I continue leaf pruning or should I stop after a certain point/season? Is there any season I should stop pruning leaves all together?

Branch pruning: What is the best season to actually cut/trim branches to get the desired shape (assuming I am not doing this simultaneously while leaf pruning). Can I do this all year or is it better to focus the efforts during a certain time/season?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My tree is doing well right now and I would love to see it continue growing and producing smaller leaves.

Thank you!