I let these get large in 5 gallon buckets before chopping the first time, and have let branches grow 2 years this time but they still do not have the look of base supporting branches, fattening toward the trunk on the 'armpits and shoulder' to simulate age.
On pruning and back-budding - you do not have control over anything but length. This tree is a master revisionist... with the capability to self-prune any branch they deem unnecessary in their quest to grow tall first, make branches later.
So sometimes you think you made many buds or a y-branch with pruning, only to find it 'kills it off' later in the year. The new buds don't always take.
