And now for something completely indifferent

[Geo]

A dear older neighbor pleaded with me to remove this benjamina from her patio. It was in the most absurd pot . I had to break the pot to remove the tree anyway. It had been in the same container for 10 years(a gift from her now thankfully ex husband). I kid you not:the pot was an ovalish blue glaze with a yellow moose head on the side of it. Roots had packed inside the moose head too.
All I have done is repot it(April 1st) and thin some of the intersecting branches. As you see, they are all on top and leafless to the ends of the branches,except for one near the base. It must have been a bunch of woven saplings at one time. There are ugly spiraling lines winding up the trunk. They look like badly healed wire wounds. Shall I just leave it alone for awile? And then what? All ideas more than welcome

 

[Disgruntled_ficus]

Im new to the hobby, but the tree looks a little on the unhealthy side. Id let it adjust to its new environment for awhile and put on some better foliage. Give it some fertilizer and some light.

Ill let someone more experienced give better advice.

 

[milehigh_7]

Ah it was a "braided" trunk it appears.

 

[jk_lewis]

I'd cut off that root the directly crosses the base. Cut it smoothly off at each end. It won't harm the tree. While you are doing that, I'd also plant it into a larger pot for a year or two to promote the overall health of the tree. There will be time for a bonsai pot, but it's not now.

 

[Geo]

Thanks. I can east it out of the pot and put it in the ground for awhile. See what happens.