Man this is so awesome to be able to share things that excite others as much as myself, and get so much help doing it. I feel great to be able to give advice and help others on their trees. It really is cool there are so many of you out there that care about this so much. I am surprised there aren't more people that do this wonderful art. I think so many think it is very hard, or takes all your time, well, i guess it does if you have alot of trees. This is my first try, and im very shocked to see roots. I hear this is a tough tree to air layer. Anyway, thanks to all for the help. How many weeks before frost should you pot a layer to get it use to its new home? Or, would it be best to put it in the ground? If so, when should i plant? I have alot of trees in the ground for future bonsai. The branch is about 1" thick at the base, so what size pot should i put it in, or container? Should i use bonsai soil? Should i protect it more than the normal established trees over the winter? I was wondering about the arrangement of the roots. So if i put it in a container this fall, then keep it in there all next season, then in spring 2012, i would take out, and arrange the roots on a tile or something? Does that sound right? Thanks again.