Presently your tree does not have a leader branch that will eventually involve into the tree's trunk, that will then develop the foundation branches of the tree. The tree could be pruned so that the branch on the left in the picture could become the leader branch. Actually, that should have long ago been done by the trees propagator, If you do nothing it will develop into a bush with no directional growth pattern.

The small branch that has the bungee around it should be pulled up vertically as the leader. Then the left branch should be cut back by a third. IMO. I don't think it's too late at all. If the right branch is brittle, it can be pulled up more slowly over weeks.

I normally only stake vegetables and not long term plants unless I want to shape them. Your plant seems to be naturally weeping variety or just too young now. As far as shaping goes I agree with Dave - pull the branch with bungee cord to be the leader. You can tip prune all of them to let it branch more. Lower branches also help fatten/stiffen up the trunk.

Hey, just wanted to stop in and say thank you everyone. I agree, I think it would look better with a leader branch. I'll have time on the weekend to work on it's new look. The branch on the left has variegation on the trunk (no bark yet so probably more flexible) the right side of the Y has bark already.

It's backstory: I bought it at Home Depot a couple months ago and I choose the largest VPL, it was seriously 5x bigger than the others, I don't think anyone worried about their shape.... ha. Sadly they're lucky to get watered at these BBS.

A plant looks nicer and balanced if the branches off the main trunk line are alternating on each side. It also allows uniform airflow and light. If it were my plant I will make the second branch on the right to be the new leader. That will make the other branches be alternating on each side of the leader.

Often it is better to put the stake an angle so that provides enough resistance. So I would put stake so that it angles up from right to left in the same direction you are bending the branch to be the leader. But if your if your stake seems stable enough then you can leave it where it is.

Nancy-

What do you do to manage sunburn? I grow everything under lights year round as my climate prevents me from growing outdoors. Have 3 variegated citrus and they all get sunburn. Just begun to address it and removed them all from direct light. Also made them shade "veils" out of a couple layers of tulle. Hopefully this will make a difference. But if you or anyone else has any ideas (besides growing outdoors as I've explained why I grow indoors here ad infinitum), I'd sure appreciate. :-)

Don't mean to hijack your thread- since you mentioned a spot of sunburn hope to learn how you prevent.

The other Nancy

A primer: A first order branch grows directly off the trunk. A second order branch grows from a first order branch, and so on.

A leaf axil is the crotch formed by the leaf stem (petiole) and the branch it attaches to. There are dormant buds in leaf axils and immediately above the bundle scars where leaves were formerly attached.

The problem isn't in that your tree doesn't have a leader, it does, but it has another branch that "thinks" it wants to be a co-dominant leader, which is an easy fix. BTW - there's nothing wrong with a trunk that undulates as opposed to one that is perfectly vertical. Beauty is in the eye ....... I find trunks with movement more interesting, but that's just me.

The more vertical portion of the stem above the shock cord is the natural leader, but you can make a leader grow anywhere you like, easily, and at some point, you might want to do that, so your options are too numerous to count. The first order branch that grows to the right in the image is your lowest branch (for now). The 2 lower first order branches won't really ever be a part of the tree unless you decide to 'build' the tree from one of those branches, but they ARE useful as sacrifice branches. If you keep them, they should be shortened and any vertical second order growth that occurs on them should be removed. Vertical branches are more powerful energy sinks than horizontal branches, so the plant will dedicate more energy into vertical branches than horizontal branches, and it doesn't matter what order the branch might be. For now the 2 lower branches serve as food factories, producing photosynthate that will help to strengthen the trunk and make the tree stronger o/a, but they can be removed at any time. My plan would be to keep them until the trunk is strong enough to support itself. Then they go away, with your help.

If you like a trunk that undulates, you can remove the natural leader above the shock cord and cut the upper first order branch that moves to the right back to 2 leaves. Within a few days, you'll have new branches growing in the axils (crotches) of those leaves. Remove the branch you don't want, and keep the other. You MIGHT need to give it some gentle guidance if it doesn't grow in the exact direction you want it to grow, but that's easy when branches are young & supple.

..... got all that? ;-)

Al

Thank you Tropic, Dave and Al. Yay! It seems we are basically on the same page.

I think I got it Al! Thank you for a great explanation. Basically something like below?

Nancy,
I'm curious... what it is about your climate that prevents you from
growing outdoors? My Var. Pink Lemon is outdoors under a pergola. I keep
it on the East side, it gets morning sun, the house blocks the South
sun, then in the afternoon indirect sun from the West side. So basically
I don't let it get direct sunshine except early morning sun. I have not
grown this indoors yet, but will in the Fall. Have you tried running a
fan on your variegated citrus? Are the lights hot?

I use a steel rod to hold the tree.

That's pretty close. If you want the existing natural leader to remain as the leader, cut the lower 2 existing branches back 1/3 to about 2/3 their current length. Then, cut the higher of the 2 branches that move right to 2 leaves only. You'll get 2 new branches from the 2 leaf axils you left on that top right branch. You MIGHT later wish to select one of the 2 branches that will grow to serve as your new leader and the other can be a new branch (the existing main leader would then be a sacrifice branch to be removed later); or, you can keep the existing leader and the 2 new branches that occur on the branch you cut back to 2 leaves can be treated as branches.

No matter what you decide in the future, the best plan for now is to shorten those 2 lower branches and cut back the top right branch back to 2 leaves.

Al

(Temporary) staking:

Al

Hi Mike, thank you, I'm glad you'll be keeping a watchful eye over my crash course in Citrus :)

I was wondering a couple things, I haven't feed my citrus yet, most times it has been rainwater, is it time for a weak dose of FP at next watering? Is it time to increase sunlight on the solid green citrus on my other thread?

Hi Al, Finally getting to this pruning after a hot few days & t-storms. As I was working on it, I cannot help but wonder if the middle right branch should be the leader instead? It also has a young branch near the top (bottom two pics below).

The original plan's leader (now top left below) seems less wanting to be straight up, not sure if that was a good or bad thing.

I figured I can pause here and see what you think of plan B. If you think I should stick to the original plan I'm happy to do so. Thank you very much for your guidance!

Plan B...

Young branch:

another view: