Dear All,

I have a number of baby trees of varying species I want to attempt to turn into bonsai. Most are from the wild, 1-3 years old, and some are cuttings.

My problem is this. They are in very small pots at the moment, not mame or bonsai pots, just very small garden pots. However I'm sure these will act like Bonsai pots and keep the tree small. Yet I do not want to keep the tree small at this stage, I want the trunks to thicken, the cuttings to develop, etc. So I think they should be moved into bigger garden pots and left for a few years until they are ready for me to prune and move into Bonsai pots.

But just how big should the garden pots be, and what soil should I use? (Proper Bonsai soil is expensive).

Any help would be appreciated.

P.S Another problem. One of the trees I got from the wild looks great, in that it must have been growing between rocks for a few years as it has absolutely dwarfed itself, and is just about ready to be put into a bonsai pot. The problem is, however, is that it has one root that just travels straight down. If I chop off a third of this long root and plant it in a Bonsai pot will it be ok?

Thanks,

Bren.

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