Yes you can, but the goals are more varied than just keeping them small - anyone with a pair of scissors or pruners can do that ..... for a while. The illusion of age, perspective, proportion, plant health, ad infinitum .... should also be a part of your goal set. The art of bonsai isn't something you can simply decide to do. First, you have to decide to learn how to practice the art. I hope you do - it's very rewarding & you'll find many willing to help.

Al

Howdy, Gardengal.
What type of maples do you have?
I ask because I've heard that most maples belong outside.

I've only been "into" maples for two years now, but I'm having fun with seedlings. For
the first 3-5 years, most folks simply focus on *growing* their material to the proper size.

Bonsai really begins from the ground up, if you'll pardon the pun :)
Many plants are grown in-ground, and later moved into containers or growing boxes.
Then, during one of the final stages, the plant is moved into an appropriate bonsai pot.

Maintaining a plant in a small pot can be delicate work. However, a well-designed potting
mix can make the job easier. Study Al's Threads on Container Soils; then wrangle up
your materials, and make a few batches of mix for fun. In the spring, before buds begin to
break, you can re-pot your maples.

Josh

thank you guys and that info was helpful. I am still going to try it, just to see what happens b/c the maple I have has an interesting slant in its (small) trunk. If it doesn't work, I guess it will be fun trying, lol

Depending on the type of maples you have they can work out to be be very nice bonsai eventually (many years from now). The trees do need to live outdoors or they will slowly die, that is just the nature of the beast. If I read that right you are in zone 6 so they will be OK outdoors over winter with some protection. If you cut and pot them small now they will always stay small. The interesting thing about growing deciduous trees is that they can be cut back and they rebud down the trunk so don't worry if you think it is getting too tall. Cutting back can actually be part of your plan, it is used to gain trunk thickness which as stated above goes to age and perspective. Right now keep them in decent size pots and grow them as big as you can while you learn how to plan the styling. By the time you know more of what to do you will be glad you let them grow.

And even if you want to go ahead and root prune, trim to size and put them into bonsai pots now is not the time of year. Maples are generally worked in early spring before bud-break. You will kill them if you do too much right now.

And...if you try and keep them indoors...they may survive for a few years but will eventually die. Sorry but true.

Bob

I have a red maple which is about 5 or 6 years old. I built an 18x18x8 inch wooden box which has soil covered in 1/2 thick sand stone pieces and has lush green, yellow star sedum growing between the rocks. I leave it outside in winter. It sits under thin shade in summer and must be watered daily. It is about 3 feet tall. The leaves turn an almost maroon red in Fall. In winter I put it on the south side of the greenhouse to protect the roots from the north wind. I am strictly an amateur, no bonsai training, just a semi-decent eye. It doesn't look like an artistic Japanese garden in style, it just looks like a miniature red maple tree. I have a sugar maple which sprouted in a pot of tropical hibiscus. I'm going to pull it up and start a bonsai for it.

Making a bonsai is such an interesting hobby. One of the most favorite bonsai is maple tree. Among the most popular are the Trident Maple and the Japanese Maple. I hope I can have one in the future.

Here is a link that might be useful: red bonsai