Giant Cork Bark Portualcaria - Help with chop and picking a front.

[cbrshadow23]

I bought a Frank Yee cork bark a while back and let it grow wild to thicken the trunk. It worked! The widest part of the visible base is slightly over 5" diameter.
I'd like some help on where to chop the tree, and to pick where the front is. I've already chopped back most of the branches but I can't decide on how tall the tree should be.

The attached video shows the tree from (2) areas that I'm debating as being the front. The sticks in the video indicate the two spots I'm considering, roughly 45 degrees from eachother.

- One of the front positions lines up well with the 'primary branches' that are currently in place.
- The other front position (shown first in the video) is 45 degrees from that position and would require that I remove those existing primary branches. This position shows a wider nebari from the front, which I think is nicer. The big downside is that I'd have a huge scar right in the front of the tree if I were to remove that front branch.


Lastly, where is the best spot to chop the upright? I imagine the cut being pretty low as to force taper. This will make it a very longterm project but that's ok.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Carol 83]

Even in a pot, the trunks seem to thicken pretty quickly. I bought a cutting from a member here and in just a couple of years, it has really thickened up and I have taken lots of cuttings to share. Lots of possibilities with this one and you are going to have a ton of cuttings!

 

[luvinthemountains]

There seems to be a subtle bend just a few inches above the highest pruning scar. I think you should use front #1 (confusingly, second in the video) and cut just above that bend. Then select a shoot coming from the high side and grow that out. My experience with these, like most ports, is that they will die back to the next intact node, which makes angled cuts impossible.

Truthfully, though, I really like the height and shape of the tree as it stands right now. So you could just keep it the way it is.