Help deciding how to better the apex...

TeT12a_sPiN

Seedling
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Location
Bayville, NJ
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7A
Hey guys. Took this pic of my TBF to show my situation. I want to eliminate one of the three branches that start the apex. The natural flow is telling me that I screwed up; I should have kept other branches previously cut, bc in my opinion I think the left branch shows the natural flow of the trunk, meaning I would need to off the two right branches. Wouldnt leave a very good apex with that left one not even heading up, so thats outta the question. I was thinking about removing the left one. It's that or the right, but I'm not crazy about that option.

It's just a real crappy junction with knobs from cut branches and just a very bumpy area. I've been struggling with deciding what to do with this part for awhile now. Any help would be great. Thanks.
 

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Your tree is a little on the sparse side. I think if you removed one of those branches, it would leave too large a gap. If that were my tree, my number one goal would be to promote interior budding. Fortunately, a ficus will oblige.
 
notice how the lower branches start ramifying closer to the trunk and the 3 upper branches don't ramify close to the trunk. You might consider cutting back the upper branches to encourage ramification closer to the trunk. Generally speaking, just as the diameter of the branches and the distance between the branches should decrease as you proceed up the trunk I also believe that the ramification should also get closer to the trunk as you move up the tree. Note...this looks to be a ficus which should bud back but please check to make sure whatever this species is that it will back bud before you prune the top branches back...
 
The photos don't give a good idea of the tree shape or current trunk bends so it's hard to be specific about possible changes. That means I need to be general and you'll have to see if any of the ideas might work.
1. If the current shape is not quite right we can use wire to reposition branches, trunks or apex. Ficus are reasonably flexible so check to see if the desirable left branch could be repositioned to provide a better apex.
2. Sometimes simply changing the planting angle can mean a branch that was not suitable suddenly becomes ideal. Try tilting the pot on wedges or something suitable to see if that might help the left branch achieve a better position.
3. A change of viewing angle 'front' can make a big difference to how branches look. Try turning the whole tree slowly around to see if there's a better front that suits one or another of those apical branches.
4. Ficus are really good at new shoots after pruning so don't look at what's there and the gaps that pruning might cause. Try to predict or imagine what might grow and develop after pruning or reshaping.

As mentioned, the apical branches appear to be quite long. I can see you've opted for wiring rather than pruning. I can't see the shape clearly but most of my Ficus have improved dramatically after reduction pruning. Maybe cutting the entire apex back really hard might give you more options to consider. Summer is the optimum time to prune Ficus for quick resprout unless you have excellent indoor growing conditions in which case you may be able to chop any time of year.

It's just a real crappy junction with knobs from cut branches and just a very bumpy area
Looks like the bumps are relatively recent pruning scars. They will disappear given some time (years). Again, don't concentrate on what's there now, look forward to predict what will be in time.
 
If all three of these are kept, there will be an area of swelling at that junction. To answer the specific question, I would get rid of the right hand one as the left has a much more interesting shape in the profile we are shown. I would then do some moving things around with wire to make the most of what you have. I'd also encourage a new branch below the point of the one you'd be removing on the left. I don't know ficus that well, but imagine they could be thread grafted pretty easily given how they grow.
 
The photos don't give a good idea of the tree shape or current trunk bends so it's hard to be specific about possible changes. That means I need to be general and you'll have to see if any of the ideas might work.
1. If the current shape is not quite right we can use wire to reposition branches, trunks or apex. Ficus are reasonably flexible so check to see if the desirable left branch could be repositioned to provide a better apex.
2. Sometimes simply changing the planting angle can mean a branch that was not suitable suddenly becomes ideal. Try tilting the pot on wedges or something suitable to see if that might help the left branch achieve a better position.
3. A change of viewing angle 'front' can make a big difference to how branches look. Try turning the whole tree slowly around to see if there's a better front that suits one or another of those apical branches.
4. Ficus are really good at new shoots after pruning so don't look at what's there and the gaps that pruning might cause. Try to predict or imagine what might grow and develop after pruning or reshaping.

As mentioned, the apical branches appear to be quite long. I can see you've opted for wiring rather than pruning. I can't see the shape clearly but most of my Ficus have improved dramatically after reduction pruning. Maybe cutting the entire apex back really hard might give you more options to consider. Summer is the optimum time to prune Ficus for quick resprout unless you have excellent indoor growing conditions in which case you may be able to chop any time of year.


Looks like the bumps are relatively recent pruning scars. They will disappear given some time (years). Again, don't concentrate on what's there now, look forward to predict what will be in time.
Thanks for the lengthy detailed response. I truly appreciate it.
1. All i do is wire lol. I'll give the tree a month off or so after biting into branches, then i pretty much wire it right back up.
2. All i do is prop the pot up in a big bowl and angle it all diff ways and do 360s round n round. That is where my problem is tho.
3. I never ever chose a front on this tree. The lower 3 branches i kept were literally the best possible options on the tree. There were so many flaws that I cut most off and kept a few that were in decent positioning. The first 2 structural were too far long and I couldnt get any movement towards the trunk. So the first 3 to 4 inches of the lowest 3 branches are decent thickness but boring and basically bar branches which annoys the crap outta me. I'm about to cut em off and graft all new ones in better spots..

But I'm following what the technique is that I hafta start doing. I should have cut everything off leaving 2 or 1 inch stubs and let new branches sprout so I can build taper. Then I could have completely controlled new branches basically from scratch. I know how to do it. I don't know what my problem is. I'm just trying to create some sick pads yo hahaha.

Following 2 pics are right after the 1st defoliation 6 months ago. I gained so much new back-budding i was super pumped. Then shit became too congested as the branches got bigger so I cut off alot of interior growth leaving some...I'm trying to create voids in between my structural branches. You know the saying...so a bird can fly thru or something...
 

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Following 2 pics are right after the 1st defoliation 6 months ago. I gained so much new back-budding i was super pumped. Then shit became too congested as the branches got bigger so I cut off alot of interior growth leaving some...I'm trying to create voids in between my structural branches. You know the saying...so a bird can fly thru or something...
Congestion is common with beginner trees. We all start with many branches because the branches are thin and no ramification so it looks OK. As branches thicken and ramify the spaces between shrink and the tree is crowded. Rather than thin out each branch - because that just take you back to a tree with no real branches - I remove entire branches to leave room for the best ones to grow.

1. All i do is wire lol. I'll give the tree a month off or so after biting into branches, then i pretty much wire it right back up.
Why??? Wiring is to shape a branch. After it is shaped there's no need to wire again?

2. All i do is prop the pot up in a big bowl and angle it all diff ways and do 360s round n round. That is where my problem is tho.
3. I never ever chose a front on this tree. The lower 3 branches i kept were literally the best possible options on the tree. There were so many flaws that I cut most off and kept a few that were in decent positioning. The first 2 structural were too far long and I couldnt get any movement towards the trunk. So the first 3 to 4 inches of the lowest 3 branches are decent thickness but boring and basically bar branches which annoys the crap outta me. I'm about to cut em off and graft all new ones in better spots..
Great that you have considered alternative viewing front and different trunk angles. Sometimes we can see a better alternative. Sometimes it's not there.
Bar branches can be solved in several ways:
1. remove 1 of the branches. If you can't decide which one to chop that probably means both are good so it doesn't matter which one goes. Toss a coin.
2. remove the main trunk above the bar branch and use one of the branches as the new leader. This may set your plans back a few years but often produces the best long term result as the new trunk line will have a bend and much better taper. May require changing trunk angle to make the transition from lower trunk to new leader look better.

Without seeing the tree in 3D I probably can't provide good shaping advice. That's something you'll need to look at in full 3D.

Try not to be disillusioned. Seeing options becomes easier as you do more.
 
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