This is Dawn Redwood was grown in ground and dug up last spring. I’d like to know how others would proceed from here.
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Please take into consideration that DRs are very apically dominate that can cause revise taper if the apex and arias on the trunk have too many branches. I prune problem arias several times during the growing season to eliminate problems kind of a balancing pruning while in development.
So take off most of the branches? I’m wondering when I should start doing that. Should I prune pretty heavy now or wait until bud break?
I have some DRs in the field and would cut all the big branches off about 3 - 4 " from the trunk in early winter then in late winter cut off all the branches cleanly at the trunk and cut off the apex to about 3 to 4 feet. After several years there was very nice taper in the trunk. When satisfied with the trunk size you can leave the branches you want for the design and more. Just do not leave branches close together or you will get a bulge in the trunk. It looks like your tree has some arias with a lot of branches close together, I suggest you reduce some of the extra branches in the denser areas. During development be sure to cut back the upper growth to keep the lower branches strong. This is more difficult than with other kinds of trees.
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Good advice about reducing the number of branches at the same level. Some additional views with an even plainer background might be useful to give some advice on which to leave. Don’t be too quick to remove the big branches since some of them might be useful in the design.