Hi, I'm curious how your tree suffered 'winter kill' last year. Maples are very cold hardy, even small Japanese ones, unless it got stuck in a really bad icy situation by accident or something. Are you sure it wasn't e.g. a case of being overwatered, or something else? The tree in general certainly could be bonsai'd, but whether it would make a good, or great one remains to be seen - can you post a picture here? Yes, taking it up when dormant is a good idea, but how 'dormant' (how cold) does it get for how long there? I don't think a cold room is the answer - it won't survive and would need to live outdoors forever, though a good idea would be to have it not in a small bonsai pot right away, but a larger "training box" thing which you'd then sink into mulch (with some on top as well) from ... Dec. through March, depending on temps there.

The winter kill was to the top 18" of the tree. I'm not sure why it happened because it was in a protected place, was mulched and I rarely water that bed in winter because the winters are fairly wet here. I live in Texas about 25 miles west of Fort Worth. Within 30' of this little tree I have four other Japanese maples and they all were fine.

I thought that I would need to protect the roots from freezing right after I take it up, and that's why I suggested putting it in the room, but I expected that it would remain outside for the rest of the year. The Winters don't get horribly cold here, usually we'll get down to 10 along about January and February. Temps fluctuate throughout the Winter and often into Spring.

I'm not familiar with 'training boxes', I'll Google it and see what I can dig up. I think this tree will make a nice looking Bonsai if I can just not kill it in the process. One of the things that I have always had a hard time with is, how to know how much water and feeding is required, and how much is too much? I will try to get a good clear picture of it maybe this weekend. Since it's still in the ground, I'll see if I can get in there with a camera. Cheryl

Well, it does get colder than I'd imagined, so it definitely would need the mulch thing, maybe in an unheated shed with some ventilation, or a porch, etc. The trick to watering bonsai (especially maples, pines and other conifers) is to have the tree in a proper bonsai mix, which means 80% grit (depending what's available where you live, tho' aquarium gravel does a pretty good job), a little Perlite and some pine or fir bark chips - that allows it to drain right away and not have water at the roots, so even in a good rain (or with an overly 'caring' human) it's not half as important to worry about which day to water, only to be sure it gets done (more often than you would with something in potting soil). Training boxes made of wood slats, a few inches high and rather wide with screening on the bottom and sides. You can also plonk a tile or something under the middle of the rootball to keep it from growing downward much, tho' maples are less likely to do that anyhow. The box is a portable compromise (instead of the ground) priot to a bonsai pot, and when a season or so has passed you can just clip the roots away from the screen (the air allows better growth than a pot would). Go to www.bonsai4me.com for basics and explanation of various things.