I ordered a bunch of JBP seedlings and received them over the weekend. Most have lower branching on them already. Some are long and leggy though. They are about7-8" and no branches down low. I want to force back budding on these trees. Should I cut the tops of these seedlings or allow them to grow and hope they back bud on their own?

Haoleboy wrote:

Most have lower branching on them already. Some are long and leggy though. They are about7-8" and no branches down low. I want to force back budding on these trees. Should I cut the tops of these seedlings or allow them to grow and hope they back bud on their own?

If you cut it below there where there still are needles, you'll have killed it. If you cut it above that point, you'll slow it down.
Maybe Literati style is still possible.

Haoleboy wrote:

Most have lower branching on them already. Some are long and leggy though. They are about7-8" and no branches down low. I want to force back budding on these trees. Should I cut the tops of these seedlings or allow them to grow and hope they back bud on their own?

They are still very short if you think in perspective about a medium size tree. Let them grow freely for a while

I had about 80 like this, topped all of them and they're branching nicely. Before I did this I asked around, 10 bonsai people 10 answers. But they nursery convinced me to go ahead. You have to redirect the energy
Good luck