Growing out nursery stock - best practices?

[Dues12]

Hello! New to bonsai and trying to do my own research, but have been unable to locate anything specific to best practices after buying nursery stock, and wanting the tree to sit on my bench and grow out more before I decide on the shape.
I have a couple cypress and an elm.

My main questions are:
Do I put them in a larger pot?
If so, should I trim back the roots at all?
Should I prune/pinch the top and branch ends, to encourage more Inside growth, or leave it be and allow natural growth?

Thank you in advance for any info/tips.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Much of what you seek is in several of the articles here.

Articles About Bonsai

Read, then come back for more less general questions.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

If you edit your profile to include you approximate location, or. City, State or Province & Country, this is an international forum, majority of members are from USA & Canada, but we have quite a few from EU, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and even a few from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. Location helps get specific advice to you.

Which cypress do you have? There are many unrelated species that share the common name cypress. Thuja, Taxodium, Chamaecyparis, Cupressus, and several others. We are not trying to be snobs, asking for botanical names, it is just a way to avoid confusion.

Good news, most everyone from temperate climates knows what you mean by Elm. Genus Ulmus. Pretty much all species of elms make good to great bonsai, and techniques are similar across the group. Biggest difference is in winter hardiness, some of the southern North American elms are not winter hardy in the northern states or Canada. All submit to Bonsai techniques nicely.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Generally for elms, we let them grow out, using progressively larger nursery containers until the trunk just above the soil line is the diameter we want for the finished tree. Then we prune the trunk to about 1/3rd the final desired height, and remove 100% of the existing branches. We then develop the entire tree from the "stump".

But there are many ways to get to a "finished bonsai", this is just one of the options.

 

[sorce]

Pics!

Roots first.

Sorce

 

[Dues12]

Thank you all for the info! Leo that page is a great resource and I’ve read a few of the sections already. I have updated my profile to show location; I am in Orange County, California. Zone 10a.

Pics attaches of the three I had questions about as I’m trying to decide what to do. A pic of a fourth tree is attached also, a Juniper pre-bonsai which was my first buy a week ago. I went at the Juniper right away to start learning. I may have done too much though, having pruned for shape, wired, and repotting after cutting away 1/3 of the rootball.

As for the type of Cypress, I was told the more slender shaped one is a Hinoki. I cannot recall what the other one is, and the receipt just shows ‘Cypress.’

Roots are starting to poke out of the bottom on the Elm, and just barely showing on the Cypresses.
In hindsight I may not have picked a good Elm as i didn’t pay great attention to the trunk at the top and got that on my first trip before I really knew what I was looking for (close up pic)

 

[James W.]

Roots first.
Sorce

Like @sorce says, "Roots first"
Don't just slip pot into a bigger pot to let it grow. Work the roots ASAP or you will never have decent nebari. Better to kill it now than forever have a nasty root ball. You can wait until late winter to do it.
(One of the worst mistakes I have made, too many times.)

 

[Dues12]

Like @sorce says, "Roots first"
Don't just slip pot into a bigger pot to let it grow. Work the roots ASAP or you will never have decent nebari. Better to kill it now than forever have a nasty root ball. You can wait until late winter to do it.
(One of the worst mistakes I have made, too many times.)

Thank you! I will do some research on how to do this. Do you think for the Juniper I’ve already worked on (cut 1/3 rootball, repotted, pruned, wired all in the past week) that it would be too much for the tree if I were to now work the roots? If so, what about in a few months?

 

[leatherback]

Do you think for the Juniper I’ve already worked on (cut 1/3 rootball, repotted, pruned, wired all in the past week) that it would be too much for the tree if I were to now work the roots? If so, what about in a few months?

It wold be too much. Leave it alone.

A few months is not a recovery period for junipers. Think in a years' time. Or better, in 2022.

 

[Dues12]

It wold be too much. Leave it alone.

A few months is not a recovery period for junipers. Think in a years' time. Or better, in 2022.

Got it: thank you!!