I would imaging what you have are seedlings...that in time will mature. I would think with maturity you will see the desired look. Time...is what I am thinking they need.

I took three seedlings and braided them together...and put them in the ground. They are doing well...and I de-leafed the trunk to braid further up since they have grown since planted last year from original spot they once grew as seedlings from seed spent. But the three together have a decent top canopy for saplings so small by taking three trees and combining them. Possibly that is an option...though...it takes and makes it more ornamental than natural growth with the trunk braided.

i would plant them.. and worry about them living thru winter ...

and worry about pruning and shaping.. next year ...

and w/o seeing them ... at 4 to 5 feet... i might snip them down to a foot or so ... depending on how much root mass they have ... and how big the plant above is ... are you talking a whip ... just one 5 foot stick...??

so my answer is both ends of the question.. lol.. how about a pic ...

ken

cadillactaste...I like the idea of braiding them together as I received 3 smaller seedlings. I am assuming they kind of graft themselves together after a while.

ken...no photos yet. There's really nothing to shape yet as each 5 ft. seedling is mostly one main branch coming up with maybe a couple of 4" shoots on each one. There are plenty of leaves on these seedlings though. I will try to post a pic. The roots are about 2-3" in diameter and approximately 10" long. I think snipping them so they are shorter is a good idea. That may give the shrubs more energy to give off side shoots.

Lynn...I watched a few YouTube videos on it. It's not hard in the least.

As Ken mentioned there are a lot of variables before chopping. Root development and such. Thus...I wasn't apt to get into it because I've no real hands on experience on it. Only know many factors play into account to ensure it's healthy enough to sustain such a chop.