Stake as high as you want for desired height. Random branching typical for ornamental crabs, these are basically flowering (and fruiting) bouquets that can be hard to redirect into shapes that conform to preconceived notions of what a proper tree looks like, are more visually effective when in color if dense in habit. And, yes, a lot of top pruning of a new specimen will reduce root growth and overall size increase. However if a young tree has crossing future main branches or other things about it that appear to demand attention when it is young and small is the time to do something about these.

That said weeping trees are often more interesting cascading to the ground from a high top than pruned and trained to look like patio umbrellas, as is far too often done. Even if - as you presumably don't intend to do - this one is not going to have the weeping branches cut way back all the time, in an apparent attempt to make it as though non-weeping it will still be more graceful and attractive if the feathered branching it came with is retained (and the crown is trained to grow taller) instead of changing it so all of the branches originate from points near one another on the main stem.

Otherwise probably the main part of its structure to address when it goes in is the circling roots it will have from being in that small pot.

Thank you so much Embothrium for your in depth response. I really do appreciate it.

I definitely don't want to go the umbrella route that seems to be popular with weeping trees. I like the more natural cascading to the ground look. That being said, with the lower branching not coming from one point of origin, should I go with the rule of thumb to have 30% of the trunk exposed eventually with no super low limbs?

I am assuming as the tree grows fuller at the top, the lower limbs will struggle getting proper sunlight and should eventually be pruned?

There are definitely way too many crossing small branches towards the top where it is dense. Too early to prune a few of them out?

The roots definitely seem well developed and will need some lovin before planting. Is next fall too early to start pruning for branch development? With the leader being spaced far from the rest of the tree foliage, should I pinch back the terminal bud to encourage filling out the tree further down next year?

Thank you for your time in helping me out.

Cheers!

Drew

Thanks Ken. Wasn't planning on planting a tree this fall, but $13 was too good to pass up. Lol

I'm not familiar with an idea that having a third of the trunk showing is good general practice and cannot see the point in it.

Yes the bottom branches being shaded out over time by the growth of the top above that point is a natural development that may be likely to happen. Which means that you could leave them in the meantime, to provide energy for the growth of the main stem, and then let the tree phase them out in its own good time.

If you have a particular "design" in mind and it seems viable then now
is a perfectly fine time to get started on it - the older and larger the
specimen becomes the less tolerant it will be of significant
alterations.

Fall is the best time to plant cold hardy stock and this kind of tree should be completely hardy.

Thanks Embothrium. Not so much 30% of truck showing with the weeper(anti umbrella/Beatles hair here) but the bottom third of the tree not having branches with the top 2/3 of the tree with the weeping branches to focus energy up higher.

Ken I am also a stay at home dad! I have a 6 month old boy and a 20 month old girl. I try to landscape when I can on our recently purchased home (basically starting from scratch), but they keep me pretty busy.

Have a nice weekend you two and hopefully in a few years I will have a spring time show stopper out front.

Within the context of branch retention the key point is the more branches and foliage it has the more food the tree can make and store. And often when trees and shrubs are pruned and trained to depart much from their genetic blueprint they will respond indefinitely with new sprouting where branches were cut back or off - I don't know how much one is actually able to redirect energy with pruning. This is particularly evident when vertically oriented kinds (such as are most trees, at least when young) are cut back drastically, resulting in a forest of new shoots (from specimens still vigorous enough to mount such as response) as the plant rushes to replace its original shape.

If it is anything like weeping cherry, just let it grow.