Trunk thickening questions

[dtreesj]

If I have a ficus with an apex that splits into a Y fairly equally, if I let one side keep growing, but prune back the other side, will the overall trunk thicken while keeping a relatively thinner branch on the side that is pruned?

Also, if the tree already has taper, does it keep the same taper ratio while being thickened?

 

[sorce]

Yes and nearly.

Sorce

 

[Cajunrider]

If I have a ficus with an apex that splits into a Y fairly equally, if I let one side keep growing, but prune back the other side, will the overall trunk thicken while keeping a relatively thinner branch on the side that is pruned?

Also, if the tree already has taper, does it keep the same taper ratio while being thickened?

It will take a while to get the right proportion doing it this way. I've done it multiple times. Ficus back bud easily so nowadays I just cut the branch and wait for the bud to form and develop a branch from there.

 

[dtreesj]

It will take a while to get the right proportion doing it this way. I've done it multiple times. Ficus back bud easily so nowadays I just cut the branch and wait for the bud to form and develop a branch from there.

Yeah, I'm going to chop it at some point, but there's a natural curve in a spot that I want to keep. There's a spot where I already know I want to chop it in the future to hopefully give it even more taper.