Just bought this from an eBay seller. This is the angle I’m planning, but there is inverse taper on the lower trunk. Has anyone with experience with these used trunk splitting (as with a ficus) to correct this?
100% don’t split the trunk. It will most likely die from rot and you can get back budding at the base for a sacrifice branch. I love P. Afra for many reasons and its ability to back bud is one of those reasons. Try this, with as much heat and sunlight that you can give it:
Trim every branch back to a pair of opposite leaves, at the desired length. (It helps to make the cut as flush as possible)
Dry it out till most leaves start to slightly wrinkle. A couple of days in direct sunlight should do this but, your mileage may vary.
Apply synthetic, liquid fertilizer that’s high in nitrogen as per label. I use Miracle Gro. Don’t water it until right before you apply liquid fert again.
Apply again 3-5 days later. Don’t worry, you won’t burn it. I have a boatload of them and I’ve never burned one, chemically or otherwise lol. In the summer (South Florida) I sometimes apply liquid fert twice a week, to trees that I want to push growth. (I’ve applied liquid fert to dry soil as an experiment and noticed no difference but, I still water just before applications)
Repeat if needed. At worst, you’ll have some bulky, long growth where you don’t want it and you’ll just have to trim it back.
It will take as much heat and sunshine as you can provide and loves nitrogen. Root rot is the real killer for this species. As general advice, just water when the leaves start to wrinkle.
Nice tree and I like your angle/plan. HMU if you want a pic of the results from this technique.
I hope this helps!