Deku

I was referring to acer psuedosieboldianum. I assumed there was a reason why I couldn't find many examples of these trees. I did find via google a picture of a nice looking paperbark bonsai.

I realize that it's much faster and easier to buy nursery stock, and that there are trees well suited to beginners that I should focus on. That's the main approach I've been taking. I have a couple of gallon plants I picked up at walmart and lowes, a chinese juniper and a dwarf mugo pine, which I've tried to do some initial styling on. These trees are cheap enough that I'll probably get a couple more juniper, maybe different types, and try to keep them alive after some pruning. Propating from seed and cuttings is sort of a side project that I would like to do. By the time these plants would be ready to attempt to bonsai, I should have some experience under my belt.

Even if these trees are not suited for bonsai, I would still like to grow them. I guess I'm drawn to plants that seem exotic or unique. I also appreciate the challenge. I just got the Dirr and Heuser book on propagation and the Deno book on germination theory from the library so I will try to follow their instructions. Even if only one tree come from all the seeds I collect, I would consider it a success.