I have a few more questions. I hope someone can find the time to
advise me!

- Is it worth investigating the roots anyway, or would it be better
to see if the plant improves under the new watering regime before
undertaking something that might stress it?

The only reason to look at the roots would be to see if a lot of them are rotten and need to be removed. In my experience, this is not much of a problem with figs, so you'd probably be better off leaving the tree alone until it shows signs of recovery.


- I am guessing I should await improvement before pruning. Is that
right? Or would pruning the live branches back to one or two leaf
pairs each give the plant a better chance of reccovery?

That's a very good question. It depends on the tree. A tree in a very dry environment (i.e., indoors) with a lot of leaves and a weak root system will transpire too much. Figs, however, drop leaves when stressed, which reduces transpiration. So your fi
g has probably already dropped the leaves it needs to. What you need to watch is the twigs. A healthy fig has plump green twigs. If the twigs become shrunken and wrinkly, they are dying.


- Is it worth experimenting with new placement? The current spot is
the lightest in the house, but not the warmest. I have read that a new
environment might lead to further leaf drop, which this plant can
scarcely afford.

That's a tough call. What temperature is it at the current location? If it's above 70 I wouldn't worry. Besides, sunlight hitting a surface raises that surface's temperature much higher than the surrounding air, so the leaves and trunk might be quite co
zy. You might think about getting a heat mat, however, to keep the soil temperature warmer. Some people on this list use them for tropical plants. Perhaps they will weigh in.

- Supposing the plant comes back to good health, what should my plan
be? Most branches are leafless and, I assume, dead/dying. I will
therefore need to encourage new branches from the trunk. Can this be
done? What is the best technique?

Watch the twigs. As long as they are plump, the branch may leaf out. Benjaminas are very bad at budding back, so you probably won't get new branches. Well, I once had a benjamina literati that was quite poetic looking......

Nina.

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