To questions as a beginner,(Ficus bonsai)

[Elizathebonsai]

I’ve had this bonsai for at least 6 months and I never did any maintenance on it because I was always afraid of “messing it up” well I noticed she’s looking leggy/scraggaly and I want to spruce her up. I’m in Missouri and I have these fertilizer balls. Should I add some on its soil or wait till officially spring?

So I guess my 2 questions are:
1. I don’t know how to trim/train a bonsai. Any tips?
2.can I fertilize now? I see some new growth (leaves) getting ready to uncurl.

 

[Elizathebonsai]

One more piece of info. The bonsai is indoors during fall and winter and on a screened in porch in the summer.

 

[brentwood]

I would wait till it warms up to do much trimming, some fertilizer now wouldn't hurt, but you could do more in the spring. It would love full sun, if you could start putting it out when it warms up. I'd like to see it more strong before styling.

Nice tree

 

[Shibui]

I don’t know how to trim/train a bonsai. Any tips?

First, know what plant you are working with. Some species have different trimming from others. Some are very easy and others need special timing or where to cut.
Fortunately you have a Ficus. To be specific, Budda Belly or Ginseng ficus - Ficus microcarpa and they are bomb proof. You can cut the stems anywhere you like and new buds will form then it will grow again. Don't fall into the trap of trimming where you want the top of your tree because almost all plants grow up and out after trimming. That means you'll need to cut a bit shorter to allow space for it to grow up.
Timing: Ficus are tropicals so don't grow much in cold weather. Best time for pruning (and most other work on Ficus) is warm weather = Late Spring - Summer. If your tree seems to be happy and growing indoors then it believes it is still in the tropics so you can trim any time of year.

Do you notice any difference in the leaves on some branches of your bonsai? Pics are not entirely clear but it looks like a long, tall shoots growing from the side of the main trunk.
Budda Belly is a small leaf form of Ficus microcarpa grafted onto a different trunk. If the trunk sprouts shoots those will usually grow faster and will eventually overwhelm the desirable grafted top.

2.can I fertilize now? I see some new growth (leaves) getting ready to uncurl.

You can fertilise any time the tree is growing. The fert you have claims a 9 month release. Not sure how accurate that will be as it appears the be granular slow release. I'd probably add some more around middle of summer. Ficus are really hungry trees and it's almost impossible to over fertilise.