There was an old overgrown apple on our property when we bought it. It had soft mealy apples that were not very good. First year, we cut off about half of height to train it to a lower vase shape. The next year we had much improved apples, with a much better taste and texture. We've continued to prune it yearly and it seems the smaller the tree gets, the better the quality of the apples. Much easier to pick too.

Good going! (on getting the cuttings started) Your alii is no different than any of the other tropical Ficus in how it responds to pruning. You are doing the right thing by pruning the basal sprouts that form at soil level or just below, if you want a tree with a straight stem. Allow the plants main leader to continue to grow until the plant is about the height you want it, or a straight trunk will be difficult. I wouldn't prune any branches off the main stem that occur higher than an inch or two above the soil. These branches will feed, strengthen, and fatten the trunk as it grows. You will be removing all or some of them later, but scars on your tree should heal quickly, so you can allow them to get at least twice as thick as a pencil before you remove them. The tree will want to grow vertically for awhile before sending out lateral branches, which is fine. As branching occurs, just keep it pruned to an appropriate length. each time you prune growing branch tips, it will force more branching behind the pruning cuts. Limit your pruning to eliminating potential crossing or inwardly growing branches and just keeping branches from getting too long for the first couple of years until the plants have a strong root system. On good roots, they'll tolerate very hard pruning. Best time to prune is about the time you move them outdoors (I hope you are going to kick 'em out of the house for the summer) which is likely around mid-May where you are. Whenever nights are reliably above 50-55* F. is fine, unless you want to move them in & out as temps threaten to drop below 55*. In this plant, chill damages the photosynthetic mechanism - even short exposure to chill causes the [plant to use the ability to make food and it may take several days to return to normal. Your tree will appreciate an occasional dose of fertilizer formulated for tomatoes, if you can find one that's soluble or timed-release. It (the fertilizer) will have a low first # (N) & will help the tree develop shorter internodes, smaller leaves, and stronger branches. It also reduces the weak, succulent growth so attractive to insects. Soil should drain quickly & hold plenty of air. I can help you make a good soil for your plant if you would like something better than "from a bag". Take care. Al PS Try growing some with straight trunks & a couple with some lazy movement in the trunk. I bet you find those with movement much more interesting.

You'll need to start with better pictures. Stand in line with the center of the double window in the brick section of wall, about 25' or 30' away from it. Take a series of slightly overlapping pictures that show part of the garage all the way to the right-side neighbor's house. Post the pictures individually (not as a computer generated panorama.) The front walk is too narrow and you might consider widening it. You could do by adding a brick soldier course to each side, which would add 16" additional width.

That's an interesting experiment. I've never done it, but I think you'll be ok pruning them this time of year provided you leave some foliage to fuel their regrowth and keep them sufficiently watered. It might also be a good idea to use some pruning sealer. That's my two cents.