Totally new to Bonsai: thoughts on my plan?

papskier

Hello everyone,
I'm totally new to bonsai, and have decided to take my first foray into the hobby. I've been reading on here as well as some other sites (most notably the articles on evergreengardenworks.com). I've formulated a plan for a red oak that I picked up today and I'm wondering if you all could provide some feedback on what I'm thinking.

Ok, so as I mentioned, I've obtained a red oak from a nursery in a 5 gallon pot. It's about 12 feet tall and has a trunk diameter of 1 inch right now. It's got good branching up top with some healthy leaf growth, and has some decent tapering at the bottom.

Based on what I've read here, here, and here, I should chop the trunk this winter after the roots have store up lots of nutrients and food during the year. Based on the trunk size, I'd like to shoot for a final diameter of 2 inches, and height of 12 inches. And I should chop the trunk down to 4 to 6 inches. Since I want to do an informal upright, I should chop the trunk at about a 60 degree angle. Based on the root storage and the trunk choppage, I should have excellent growth next spring, and I can begin to train new shoots into a new leader and first branch.

If you see any holes in my plan, I'm interested to know. I do have a few questions though:

1. What sort of fertilizer should I use this year while it's in the 5 gallon pot? Every 2 weeks like potted bonsai or something else?
2. Should I prune the roots now? Mid-summer? Or wait till next mid-summer? some other time?
3. Should I repot and root prune just to be sure that it doesn't become root bound?
4. What sort of soil should I use while in the 5 gallon?
5. Does the angle at which I do the trunk chop determine the style I am going for? For example, should I chop straight across if I want to do a formal upright?

Thanks everyone for your help! I'm really looking forward to having a go at this.

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furble2142

For someone who's new to bonsai you really know where you going. I haven't even bought one yet. I've read alot but haven't yet taken the plunge. How long have you been studying/reading/been interested?

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papskier

Thanks! I've been interested for a while, but only really reading up on it for about a week or so. the evergreengardenworks.com site is a real help in comprehensive info. it really feels good though to have finally gotten a tree that i'm going to turn into something.