Question
QUESTION: I have a fir tree adjacent to a fence that was closely shaded by other trees at its lower level on one side and therefore branches only grew one side. These trees have now been removed during a housing redevelopment leaving the tree architecture in a poor state. Is there a way to promote growth of branches where there was none before, possibly by wounding and hormone or by pruning.

ANSWER: Fir trees do not sprout from the trunk--this is called epicormic branching. Hardwood tree will sprout but conifers do not. Sorry. You will get growth of branches from the upper stem but the lower stem where there is not branches will remain bare.

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QUESTION: how is it performed on hardwoods should I ever need to do so.

Answer
An epicormic shoot is a shoot growing from an epicormic bud from underneath the bark of a stem or branch of a plant. Epicormic buds lie dormant beneath the bark, their growth suppressed by hormones from active shoots higher up the plant. Under certain conditions they develop into active shoots, such as when damage occurs to higher parts of the plant, or light levels are increased following removal of nearby plants. Epicormic shoots occur in many woody species, but are absent from many others, such as most conifers. This is a natural process usually started by increasing light on the trunk--such as removing the nearby tree that shade the trunk area.