You already know your options, Chris. All that remains is to choose one and act on your choice. I learned a long while ago that worshiping growth for the sake of growth is a losing strategy. Lots of growth w/o purpose doesn't make us good growers, it just highlights we don't yet know the importance or benefits of pruning. I'm not making sport of you at all, just trying to emphasize there is no rule which says we must retain all growth our plant's put on, especially if it's to the detriment of eye appeal.

If it was my tree, I would go with #1. Imagine the side walls of the pot are taller. At the point where the leaning stem intersects the plane of the pot walls, I would prune the plant to the closest leaf, within that plane, which will produce a branch/new leader growing toward an imaginary point extending straight upward from where the trunk exits the soil. IOW, I would use pruning to change the direction of growth to visually rebalance the tree as it grows, which has the added benefit of stiffening the trunk. A long stick of a given diameter bends more readily than a short stick - same diameter. Let us know what you decided, please. I can see you've been giving it some thought.

Al

Thank you, Al! I've read a lot of your incredibly helpful posts and am glad to have gotten a response from you.

I was thinking a bit more about it since I first posted yesterday and I agree that pruning is the best choice here. However, I was considering repotting it as well, so that the bottom portion of the trunk (where most of the bend is) points up more vertically. I repotted the tree a couple of months ago and I'm afraid I was careless and may have repotted it at an angle. The tree is of course flexing more because of the foliage weight, but it also seems there is a bend in the trunk near where it meets the soil.

Do you think it makes sense to prune back roughly 1/3 of the trunk and also repot at a better angle? Or would it be too much for the tree?

I also just went and looked at the tree to better visualize your suggestion. Pruning back to the correctly angled leader at the side wall of the pot would mean cutting off about 2/3 of the trunk! Quite a prune! It wouldn't be the end of the world and I think could produce a tree with a bit more character (as opposed to a plain old straight tree), but wanted to double-check that's what you meant.

Some photos that maybe help illustrate what I'm trying to say:

The bend in the trunk is mostly here.

Where the trunk seems to want to sit. This is about as far as I pushed it before it felt like the trunk was beginning to resist flexion as opposed to help.

Where it actually sits without support.

Do you think it makes sense to prune back roughly 1/3 of the trunk and also repot at a better angle? Or would it be too much for the tree? No, it wouldn't be too much for the tree, and yes, it does make good sense to reduce the top by 1/3 to 1/2. Here are a couple of images for your amusement, which show how much difference changing the planting angle can make:

I also just went and looked at the tree to better visualize your suggestion. Pruning back to the correctly angled leader at the side wall of the pot would mean cutting off about 2/3 of the trunk! Quite a prune! It wouldn't be the end of the world and I think could produce a tree with a bit more character (as opposed to a plain old straight tree), but wanted to double-check that's what you meant. I'm not trying to talk you into anything, but it wouldn't be a particularly hard prune. This is a hard prune. ;-)

As you decide where you want to prune to promote a sinuous trunk, keep in mind that the bends in the trunk will look better if they become closer together toward the top. So, you chop the tree back to a node that will produce a branch growing back toward the imaginary vertical line straight up from where the trunk leaves the soil. When the new leader appears, guide it gently (while it's very young) in the proper direction if necessary, or use the light source to help guide it. You'll allow the leader to grow beyond that imaginary vertical line before pruning again. When you next prune, you'll be pruning the plant so the next leader also grows back toward the vertical line, and it too will grow to a point slightly beyond the vertical axis. Also try to make sure the undulation isn't just side to side. The tree will look better if the composition is 4 as opposed to 3 dimensional. That's a trap and I'm hoping someone is curious enough to bite.

Yes, these are bonsai techniques; BUT, they cost virtually nothing in terms of extra effort, so you (and others) might as well put them to good use and use them to add eye appeal to your own trees. Understanding when/how to manipulate your plants provides soo much more opportunity to increase the level of personal satisfaction you get from the growing experience and keep your plants looking like you are in control of what they look like.

Al

Al: the tree will look better if the composition is 4 as opposed to 3
dimensional. That's a trap and I'm hoping someone is curious enough to
bite.

Definitely curious to know what you mean. Do you mean the undulations should be in different planes? Or may be taking into account the branching structure when twisting and bending? In any case I am curious to learn.

Both of your observations are indeed correct, but what I was referring to centers more in the idea that when mapping out a plan for something artistic, like building a symphony hall or a building meant to blend well with a challenging piece of property, you're generally dealing with 3 dimensions. When you're mapping out a strategy for what you envision a plant looking like years from now, there's a 4th dimension to be considered - life.

Al

> As you decide where you want to prune to promote a sinuous trunk, keep in mind that the bends in the trunk will look better if they become closer together toward the top.

This is very helpful, thank you.

> Also try to make sure the undulation isn't just side to side.

Do you mean that a flat two-dimensional zig-zag composition is undesirable? And that more of corkscrew (for lack of a better word) is nicer?

> When you're mapping out a strategy for what you envision a plant looking like years from now, there's a 4th dimension to be considered - life.

This is nice to think about. I'm excited to see where this tree goes.

____

For the tree, I've decided to go for a prune without a repotting. As a bonus, I can also propagate the pruned branch and have another tree to learn with.

My plan is to cut right above the leaf circled in purple. That leaf is the one best aimed towards the imaginary vertical line Al mentioned. My hope is that after pruning, the branch straightens out to be contained in the pot now that the foliage weight is removed. Would that be enough of a prune? Or should I jump down to the orange leaf?

Thanks again, Al, for all the advice.

Aah time. You are so right that the future shape/structure is key in making decisions. Thanks.
I will not hesitate to cut at the orange circle and Al's suggestion of the next lower node seems even better. Although I probably would have tried wiring and shaping the lower part of the plant

All right! I'm convinced. I just did the prune. Here's how it looks now. I'll update end of summer with how it looks then. Thanks again!

Looking good and looks like it straightened out quite a bit. If you like the twisty curvy look you bend the top using a guy wire tied to the side of the pot. Give it the best light possible if growing indoors. Outdoors is even better but you would need to gradually expose the plant to full Sun.