We severed a scaffold branch to take the load off a leaning pomegranate last winter. The tree has since stopped leaning and re-established itself in a 30 deg angle position. The said scaffold branch (3” in diameter) wasn’t entirely trimmed all the way flushed to the trunk as seen in the photo. I now have some decision to make:
Should I trim the remaining stub off flushed to the trunk to avoid further leaning? And redirect the energy to train another much weaker branch (closer to the fence as seen in the picture) to counter the leaning? The weaker branch is partially shaded by the neighbor’s fiscus.
Or, should I preserve the scaffold stub (which did produce a lot of fruits and led to the leaning) and train one of its many sprouts while trying to straighten the main trunk at the same? The straightening could take years and I might risk further leaning.
