Choose one of the four an prune it so it resembles a vertical leader and prune the other three into more horizontal branches. As the tree grows vertically, you will eventually remove the three horizontal branches.

So the four bottom branches could be temporary and will be removed one day, and my lowest permanent branch could be one of the top branches currently? I would ultimately like the lowest permanent branch to be about 7 feet off the ground.

first.. it was a large transplant..

how about we give it another year of leaf growth.. to feed the roots.. to grow.. before we go cutting off the food making engines ...

late next fall .. i would take off the bottom whorl of branches.. starting the process of raising the canopy ... in your pic.. lets call it everything below the bottom of the fence behind ... plus any stubs above ...

as for a SINGLE vertical ... i planted about 40 oaks 12 years back.. about the same size ... i would say 5 of them are true one leader plants.. and the others have all developed more leaders ..

i am no oak expert.. but i am wondering if you are trying to force a habit on an oak.. that just isnt natural ...

if there are any in the general area .. i might suggest that you study many bare oaks.. and take note.. of their natural growth patterns ... google failed me on imprecise terms ..

i would never go up there.. and remove 3 of the 4 leaders ...

perhaps.. the simplest advice.. would be.. PUT DOWN THE PRUNERS... and step away ... you are thinking/worrying about this.. 2 to 3 years.. too soon .. great to think about it.. but too soon to act ...

they say.. the root system is twice as big as that above.. you saw the pot it came in.. so contemplate how long it will take to grow a root mass twice as big as what you see .. in your soil.. with your weather/drought.. etc ...

or in the alternative.. with a tree... you can always cut it off next year.. its really hard.. to staple them back on .. after you make a mistake ...

ken
ps: yes on everything on the post immediately above.. 7 feet great.. someday ...

BTW... check out the link

this tree was called a 6 to 8 foot bare root ... sold as Quercus coccinea .. when i planted it in 4/2000 ... meaning.. me holding it bare root.. it was 8 feet tall.. and by the time planted.. it was 6 feet tall ...

i bet it was near identical to yours...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Thanks for the link, Ken! That's definitely a good lookin' tree! This is the second winter the tree will have spent in my backyard. I would assume since the root system doesn't go dormant, that by now it's already got a really nice support. I put a shot of Super Thrive into the Gator Bag once a month when it was first planted. I might take off the bottom whorl of branches in the next week or so. One of them is cracked from when they pulled it off the truck two years ago anyway. I didn't do anything to it anyway.

Here's a better picture of the "top half" of the tree. Its an absolute mess! The branch to the right will probably be my lowest permanent branch. It's right about 7 feet (I'm 6 feet tall and it's a good foot above me).

I would not do anything for a couple of more years. One of those highest two limbs could become dominate in the future. Let it be. Cut some of the lower ones if you want, but leave the top alone.

Something happened in the growing process where it lost it's central leader. You might choose the leader which is closest to the center and stake it straight with the truck using a piece of bamboo and the expandable green hort. tape. The branch furthest away in the picture seems to have the best form to it. Looks like a shumard red oak to me.

One of them is cracked from when they pulled it off the truck two years ago anyway.

==>> i am never hesitant on removal of broken or damaged branches ...

you just cant put down those pruners.. can you ??? or at least the walk away part???? .. 2 peeps told you to wait.. and your answer is.. i am ready tomorrow ..

all the power to you ... its yours ... most likely it will not matter ...

shall we presume you know how to properly remove a branch???

ken

Most Shumards I have seen down here seem to remain single leader to around 12-15' or so, but not all.
Generally don't recommend removing more than 10-15% of foliage in a single year. The recommendations above seem like good advice.

With all of the oaks I'm familiar with, growth form is almost always suitable. Sure, we would all like every tree to have a straight central dominant leader, but in truth, it's not an absolute necessity, especially with oaks. As a genus, it is one needing little corrective pruning IMO.

Learn about "subordination pruning". U. of FL should have some good info by a guy named Ed Gilman. Once you've absorbed that info, you'll be set in terms of structural pruning of most any broadleaved deciduous tree.

+oM

Its an oak, You rarely(if ever) see any breaks from storms. I have make heading cuts to all but one of the vertical branches on my oak. But that is because it is in smaller area. Yours is in a large area. I wouldn't worry! How is it doing now that it is 2014?