Considering a major cut, too risky?

[Dr_Fud]

Definitely need to repot this ASAP. What would happen if I made this cut (yellow X). Seem too risky for me. What do you guys think?

 

[19Mateo83]

I haven’t had the chance to work on willow leaf ficus yet but if it was my tree I would air layer that top and make two trees… or a whole lot of cuttings

 

[Shibui]

What's risky about cutting there?
If you were cutting to old wood with no green leaves there would be a minor concern it may not shoot but you still have quite a few green shoots below the cut and all those will grow.
Large cuts like this one often heal slowly in ficus so try to have the chop angled away from the viewing point.
Warm weather when the ficus are growing strong seems to be a good time to make large cuts like this.

Most ficus are easy to strike as cuttings. I think there's a good chance the whole top will produce roots if you give it moisture and warmth.

 

[sorce]

What would happen if I made this cut (yellow X)

You'll eventually be upset you didn't cut it further.

Sorce

 

[Dr_Fud]

What's risky about cutting there?
If you were cutting to old wood with no green leaves there would be a minor concern it may not shoot but you still have quite a few green shoots below the cut and all those will grow.
Large cuts like this one often heal slowly in ficus so try to have the chop angled away from the viewing point.
Warm weather when the ficus are growing strong seems to be a good time to make large cuts like this.

Most ficus are easy to strike as cuttings. I think there's a good chance the whole top will produce roots if you give it moisture and warmth.

Where should I cut if I want top to take roots? Do you recommend rooting hormone for ficus? If so what’s your go to brand?

 

[Shibui]

You can cut the top wherever you want and still root as a cutting. If you cut just blow the clump of branches you'll end up with a multi trunk tree or lots of smaller rooted branches or cut off branches for a short, fat trunk ficus.
You can cut a bit lower and root the trunk for a single trunk with a mass of branches above - maybe broom style tree?

Ficus are good at rooting and will usually produce roots without any hormone but I've done trials that showed hormone improved strike rates and produced roots quicker so the treated rooted cuttings mostly grew better than untreated.
I get slightly better results with clonex gel but all formulations work.

 

[Lorax7]

Personally, I wouldn’t do the repot and the chop at the same time. I would repot it and wait for the tree to recover, then do the chop later.

Edit: Noticed after I wrote this that you’re in Florida. You might be able to get away with doing both there. Just depends on what level of risk you’re comfortable with.