You'll likely get more branching by cutting back next winter. But they might be huge by then. If you cut them back I'd cut way back. Nipping off the tips won't cause branching. Any chance you could train them over? May not be the shape you want.

They're pears, and they're growing vertically. Well, two of them are. Each sprout has branched off a secondary sprout, and both are reaching for the sky at a very narrow angle.

But I suspect that they aren't strong enough to hold themselves up there and will eventually flop down. I'd like to spread them, but the sprouts are pretty brittle now and I don't want to just snap them off.

So I guess waiting until winter, then cutting back to outward-facing buds at about six inches?

They will probably start bending over soon. If they don't bend over to nice scaffold angles you can help them with tying down or staking up.

Scott