Chop? - Air layer? - What next?

[zedmarcus]

Hi guys. Looking for suggestions for next steps on the pictured three trees.
Acer Katsura - tree is about four feet tall. Currently in a large nursery pot. Should I be looking at chopping it low? How about an air layer on one of the thicker branches?
European larch - four feet tall. Chop low?
Dawn Redwood - again, about four feet tall. Suggestions.
The Katsura is the main one in interested in what I should be looking to do next to it (and when). The larch and the redwood were impulse purchases when visiting a large nursery whilst away from home last October.
I've already got quite a few bonsai, but not yet done any trunk chops or air layers so just looking for some advice before I start butchering them.

 

[Shibui]

What to do depends on what you want to achieve.
For a small stick in pot mallsai just chop and put it in a small bonsai pot.
If you are aiming for a better bonsai they both need to grow - a lot! A larger pot or in the ground will speed up the thickening. Grow on in that size pot is possible but will add years to the project.

 

[zedmarcus]

Thanks for the input. Was thinking about ground growing them for a few years and then making a decision. Got an area I can plant them.
It's just trying to control the urge to do something now versus the waiting game. I've got enough trees already that I can carry on working with, so leaving these for a while shouldn't be too much of an issue.
Is there anything you'd recommend doing now besides just planting them? Any branches (on the Katsura) that would be better to remove now, or just plant and let them go?

 

[Shibui]

First for me is always pruning roots to encourage good nebari in maples. Now looks like a good time so I would bare root and prune roots ruthlessly before planting. Root development can be done in future years but earlier seems to give better long term results.
For the first year probably just leave and grow then prune for taper after it has grown a bit but there is no one fixed best way. Chop now and grow will probably produce a good result too.