I have a ficus tree that's about 15 yrs old. We put it outside about 18 mos ago when it was pretty bare. It took a handful of months but it finally came back to life. I had pruned it down pretty far, so when it came back, it was quite short, but very, very bushy. It looked healthier than ever. Then, I made the mistake of thinking that it was so hardy, it could survive freezing temps. Yeah, I know....pretty stupid! Anyway, the leaves froze and of course all fell off. Now that it's spring, I'm so hoping it will come back. We pruned it all the way to the bottom of the trunk about 5 weeks ago and still it shows no sprouts or any hope of rebirth. I decided that maybe going at it from the roots was the better way to coax it. So yesterday I tried to pull it up out of the pot in order to prune the roots and it is so well grounded in with a very extensive root system that I wasn't able to lift it out, so I did cut back the few roots I was able to pull up. Do you think there's any hope of it coming back? Should I work at it some more to get it out of the pot and repot it? The thought of losing it entirely is quite sad since I've had it for so long!
The guy said it had leaves 3 weeks ago. Lol! Oh well, we'll see what happens. I didn't think it was a ficus either but I felt bad and didn't want to be rude to the guy. He told me he had it for 4 years and that it was a really nice tree. 
So, I brought the thing home. Hahah!
I'll bring this guy back, just you guys wait and see.
