Leave it alone- they all develop their own unique character.

Let it grow and see how it's going to go- plenty of time in years ahead to shape it if need be.

Pruning JMs is an art form- it's way easy to screw them up if you haven't learned a few basic pruning techniques. I'm sure there are good videos around to get you started, but I am equally sure there are bad videos as well. Maybe wait for gardengal48 to show up and recommend one?

why is it potted ...

and why is the bottom of the trunk bright green .. is it a fresh graft??

ken

Yes, it is a fresh graft. And by all appearances, not yet a very secure one. This looks like a first year graft....most JM's are sold as 2 y.o. grafts or older. I might stake it for just that reason - to protect the graft and allow it to heal fully (not in any attempt to straighten the tree).

As another poster has stated, this tree is barely out of its infancy. It requires nothing more than TLC at this time.....NO pruning! One rarely needs to prune JM's at all so that should not even be a part of your thought process at this stage and not for the immediate future either.

And it is far too small and vulnerable to be planted in the ground so growing on in a container for a couple of seasons first is SOP.

i would stake for the reason that i might break the graft off ...

put is in full bright shade.. and grow the plant.. and plant it in fall when its dormant.. so you wont have to worry about acclimating leaves to full sun ....... unless you have vast experience wintering over pots.. where ever you may be ...

if you want.. at planting.. you could plant the root mass slightly askew to make it appear a bit straighter ..

but as gal said.. part of the beauty of JMs is their rather free form way of growing ... if you wanted a straight tree .. you could have gone with any of the boring hardwood trees ...

its not like you plan on limbing it up to 15 feet so you can put a tree tire or swing on it ...

its a tree.. they grow in tree time.. counted in decades ... and this should last decades.. if you dont love it to death now ...

and btw.. when you plant it in the ground... protect from vermin ... and put a giant marker stake near to it.. so you dont walk on it during the winter ... so you know where it is.. if you live in snow country.. and tromp around your garden ...

i hope that pot has drainage.. and learn how to water it like a tree.. and good deep drink.. and then near drying before the next sip ... cant quite tell what media you used ... but dont water it like some water loving perennial.. its a tree ...babe or not ....

ken

Thank you everyone for the replies! Sounds like it's okay to leave as is, I just didn't want it to grow in such a way that it might be prone to tipping over after a while. If I use a short stake to keep the grafted area sturdy, is it a good idea to secure both above and below the graft? I would have preferred something slightly larger/older but these are the only ones they had at the nursery.

To answer some questions:

I plan to keep it in a container because I don't have a place to plant it in the ground that wouldn't be in full sun for too long throughout the day (Southern California).

I'm using a "recipe" for soil I found online of 3 parts potting soil, 2 parts pine/fir bark chips, and 1 part pumice. It seems like it has good drainage and I'll be keeping a close eye on it since it's going into summer here.

I used a short piece of bamboo and some twine to keep the graft more secure, I didn't tie it too tight, just enough that it won't blow around in the wind. Other than that I'll just let it do its thing!

just couldnt leave it alone.. eh??? .. lol..

if it tips over.. put it in a bigger pot .. pot in pot.. do not replant it again ...

ken