Joanie

Tomorrow someone will probably answer you. (It's past bedtime for a lot of folks, not us from Calif, we overlap the wakening Ozzians) But for what it's worth from a pure newbie, something to ponder....

Your tree would grow faster in the ground. You, of course, know this. And you can't put it there because you only have a patio. Right? Can you build a grow box? (search "grow box" on the forum, there was at least one really good thread about them) Your tree will benefit from such a box, because it will have more room/drainage/sideways growth. I bought a forest of Tridents (19!!) in a grow box, and they are doing well. Just a thought.

Now, as to the growing out vs. training. It sure is confusing for us to figure this out. There doesn't seem to be one good way. If you let your tree grow out without any interference, it may not have "movement" which means that the trunk moves gracefully in several dimensions. So it is better to wire movement into it now, while you can. But don't necessarily prune it. Use a fairly heavy wire, or two wires side by side, and just work on the trunk. Don't worry about the branches at all...you very well might regrow them from scratch anyway. I have one tree that has one of those metal thingys with two hooks and a V screw, you hook the hooks around the trunk and the screw the V screw tighter every now and then. It has a name that escapes me right now. That works well, for trunks that aren't really flexible anymore, but wire will probably work for your Trident. If you can get movement into the lower part of your tree, eventually you will chop the upper part and get taper too. So mostly concentrate on the lower third or so.

Look at the movement on trees in pictures, and remember that the tree should move in three dimensions. Remember too that the tree will thicken and straighten as it grows, so put a little more movement into it than you want in the end.

Read up on wiring if you haven't done any yet. Get some good nippers, and aluminum wire. And keep an eye on it this summer! When the tree starts growing, that wire bites in quick!

Now, remember, I'm a newbie too. So wait till tomorrow and see if anyone has better advice!

Good luck, and hope your tree thrives,
Joanie