Hi Bedtime, I too prefer one, solo trunk opposed to multi trunks. The answer to your question, 'if I pruned the other trunks wouldn't they just grow right back?' The answer is YES, but if you continue pruning, new growth eventually stops, but, takes time. Patience is necessary. :) The object is to select the strongest and straightest trunk. Remove extra trunks. Perhaps, unpotting your Ficus, then pruning excess trunks and roots 'deep as possible', will slow down new growth. Stake and tie solo trunk so it stands erect. Ironically, the strongest and straightest trunk is usually nearest the edge of pot. lol. Saturate soil until water seeps from drainage holes. I use a product called Superthrive, so a few drops per gallon of water should do. ST works well with newly potted plants, cuttings, seedlings, etc. Last, half-strength fertilizer, which can be mixed with ST. BTW, If you're certain you want to continue with this project, begin when Ficus/Rubber Tree produces new growth. Working on a dormant plant is a no-no. Last summer, I Solo'ized, lol, my two Rubber Trees. One green, one variegated. I'll try posting pics. BTW, they do not look like show plants. lol. Variegated, before...pic was taken 2009 Variegated and green, After Variegated RT trunk isn't very straight. I figured, after the trunk grew a little taller I'd cut below curve. Good luck, Bedtime..... Toni

Hi. I live in a new development. The only trees are along the old fence rows that once stood between cotton fields. Our lot was a bare 1 acre. I planted saplings/whips to save money and enjoy the growth. Here's what I have, and I'm pretty much at the limit. I have a septic system and had to leave that spot bare. Red Maple 4 Dawn Redwood 4 Bald Cypress 2 Weeping Willow 1 Sourwood 1 Crabapple 2 Washington Hawthorne 2 Giant Sequoia 1 (just an experiment, lol) Loblolly Pine 2 Smoketree 1 American Hazelnut 5 Cherry (3 varities, dwarf) 3 Apple (2 varieties, dwarf) 5 Pussy Willow 3 Mock Orange 3 Wiegelia 3 Azela 6 Norway Spruce 3 American Arborvite (as screens) 9 I don't expect the Spruce to make it and may pull them. We're in a rural area with no sidewalks, and shallow drainage ditches (hence the willow and cypress near spots often too wet). It looks a little odd now, since they are all rather small. Only the Norway Spruce are in danger of crowding, so I'll probably remove all but one watch how it does with the heat for the next few years. I hope I inspire others to plant the development. I will remain responsible with limbs, tree health, leaves, etc. That's the key when having a suburban forest, at least in my opinon.

Laura, I wouldn't do that because it seems to me like these trees, all of them, have some age to them. Coppicing the tops would require you to significantly cut low (possibly 1/3) removal of the top -- and eventually you'll be dealing with Firs that look incredibly irregular while the others, are pristine. You'd really be doing a diservice to yourself and the integrity of the Firs. You'd also create week trees prone to insect activity, you'd create weak branches (too many will form above at the cut) thus inviting more problems such as those created by heavy snow loads or storms or about anything else that could cause limb damage. I do suppose if you continued this process for many years, until a new leader is selected (when you're ready for the tree to continue it's upward growth, again... then your idea may possibly be accomplished. However, it still seems like you'd end up with an oddly shaped tree. And, most-likely a tree where at the initial point of your first cut, there would always be an imbalance of foliage/limbs at this point. I've never tried this nor heard of anyone doing so but logically speaking I see this to be of certain possibility. If you're going to hand select just the Douglas Firs, you might as well top them all and I don't think that's something you planned on doing, probably ever, so it just doesn't hold it's weight in gold at all. Trees with one leader should (no matter what Ken thinks) always be preferred and encouraged. They are always physically stronger and more immune to any chances of other future concerns or problems. Good luck if you proceed... Dax

LC - A branch attached directly to the trunk or main leader is a first order branch; a branch directly attached to a first order branch is a second order branch, and so on. Having been truncated, that is to say the growing tip of the branch removed, any branch or stem can no longer extend. You'll need to depend on a first order branch or a series of branches of sequential orders to rebuild a leader, and that's not difficult to do, at all. Bonsai practitioners find taper desirable in their trees, so they often plan well ahead by designing the tree's shape by using a sequence of branch orders. You can do the same. The image above of a quiescent maple about to break buds shows a dressed wound where the vertical part starts to turn to the right. The trunk was truncated immediately above the branch moving diagonally to the right. When that cut was made, a first order branch was turned into part of the main trunkline. The small branch, wired to give it movement, was a second order branch before that cut was made, but now it's a first order branch. The part of the trunk to the right of the branch will eventually be removed, as it's only job is to thicken the trunk so it has taper. When that is removed, the small branch with wire on it which was once a second order branch, will be the new trunk, and all branches attached to it will be first order branches. You can choose a branch that's growing in a direction that provides some visual balance and make that your new leader; or, you can choose a branch that's almost growing in the perfect direction and wait for a branch of the next order to grow from that branch, and make that 'next order branch' the new leader. In the later case, you'd actually be depending on a branch that doesn't yet exist as your leader. So, if your tree is now 10" tall, you need to be thinking vertical or near vertical as you plan. If you provide some images, I should be able to offer some guidance. Al