So for the first time in my life, I'm able to keep plants alive! I live in an apartment with a huge east-facing window, and dI've been able to keep basil, rosemary, thyme, a lemon tree, and a lime tree alive for several months. My question now is this: is it possible to grow a standard once the apex node has been cut? For example, the rosemary I bought already had the tops of every single stem cut (presumably to encourage bushier growth). It's about 8" tall at the moment, so I fear I'll never get a 18-24" standard from it.

My desire for the citrus trees stemmed from a trip to Stockholm in April, when all of the grocery stores were selling small citrus trees. I had no idea they could be kept as houseplants! All of the trees I saw were about 18" standards with. The lemon tree I bought at a local urban nursery has a 5" stem and then branches out. I don't think there's any hope of restoring any vertical growth from the main stem, so I doubt I'll get the height of standard I saw in Sweden. I'm trying to root some cuttings in hopes of starting a new tree so I can grow it to the appropriate height before cutting off the apex node. I hope that works!

Thanks in advance for any help!