Wardog:

Citrus certainly have a mind of their own. They grow where they want not where you want. But it's certainly alright to train any branches where you like. I've done that and it works fine.

Like anything else water and nitrogen are the keys to more growth. My Cara Cara is growing too fast right now. It's going on a diet next year.

Thanks for the info.

Is it true that you should never cut off citrus branches?

I just pruned out some overly vigorous growth on Washington navel and may do the same to Cara Cara. You can cut out some anytime you want.

az1455.pdf says: " ... citrus wood is naturally strong and is not as likely to break under the stress of a large fruit load. Furthermore, citrus trees can produce fruit in all but
the most shaded part of the tree, and need not be regularly pruned to allow more light into the interior of the canopy.
Even when the crop load is heavy, individual fruit size is
large, so pruning to reduce the crop load and improve fruit
size is not necessary except occasionally with tangerines. ... "Nevertheless, citrus trees should not be left completely
unpruned. Proper citrus care for the young tree should
include sprout removal, and cautious elimination of weak
limbs within the tree canopy.

With my orange and tangerine trees I trim them up whenever they start growing too wild. I have never seen where it hurts them at all. I have trimmed them at all different times of the year. I basically ignore mine and they grow wild. It seems the more you try to fuss over them the worse the do.