...asking for a friend...
Is light/root space the only (or primary) concern for chopping something and leaving it in the ground? Y'all have far more experience and savvy than me, but it seems like IF this was a tree without much light competition around it, that would be a great way to let it recover and set some primary branches. And also not do too much work at one time. Sure, it would send out some long internodes (and fast in the Spring), but if... Say hypothetically... It was an accessible deciduous tree, and one could wire it as those new branches start to thicken (and thin out the additional branches to remove the possibility of future reverse taper), it would be a sweet way to save a season or two.
I guess, what I mean to say, is that I have a friend who has a tree in the open in his back yard and he might (in theory) want to trunk chop it in late winter and since it is in his back yard he could remove/rub off many branches and wire the needed ones and he might be hoping to get some thickening of those branches in the first season. Then he could dig it up the following Spring. If he wanted to. Hypothetically, of course.
Can someone enlighten me to how this is a bad idea? Like would the growth be to coarse? Better to chop in midsummer and then dig a year and a half later so there's not gazillions of stored carbs creating coarse growth?
If there's a good link to any information or "general game plan" someone wants to share on early deciduous development, that might be more effective in enlightening me-y --er -- friend, he/I would be interested to hear it.
Sorry to commandeer the thread, but it seemed appropriate to talk about the continuum of accessibility and the ideal circumstances of trunk chop development.
Thanks, as always, for so much insight!
N