Correcting reverse taper

[maroun.c]

Hi,
Anyone tried correcting reverse taper on trunk is by allowing new sacrificial branches ( for trees that back bud easily at least).
For minimal taper maybe up to 1-2cm more width needed do u think sacrificial branches can add girth in areas with reverse taper more than the tree is adding on the overall trunk width?
Would u need to keep the whole tree branches short except the sacrificial branches to help or is that of no real effect?
Thanks

 

[0soyoung]

The usual way is to ground/air layer at the fat spot. The problem with your sacrificial branches idea is that they don't do much to thicken the trunk below them until they are about as thick as the trunk - them you've got an even bigger problem of 'healing' the wounds from lopping off those sacrificial branches.

Consider disguising the reverse taper by 'design tricks'. With an evergreen, one simply places foliage in the line of sight to the bulge. So one then sees the lower trunk, foliage, and then the trunk above the bulge. With a deciduous tree, this trick doesn't work so well after leaf drop, but if it is just one of many knobs, say, it isn't so attention getting - worst case chop it and grow a tapered trunk anew.