Of course you can bonsai it, but not for ~ 3-5 yrs at least. You want it to not just grow, but develop a good strong trunk and some branch options to work with. I also think it needs to live outside (where you got it from?) but where do you live - it matters.

Yeah I know it will go outside soon. It came from right outside my front door in Kansas. It's just on the floor to take a picture. So I shouldn't do any pruning for that long?

Oh, you can prune it, but I'd be very careful about root pruning... maybe better to get it into a bonsai pot now, a wider, if not a lot lower one now, and carefully get the roots out sideways a bit without being forceful, and be careful about the soil mix... good drainage. How would you plan to winterize it? I have no idea what your winter's like - how cold it gets overnight there, or how much snow you get.

This post was edited by moochinka on Mon, Sep 8, 14 at 21:20

Well it's still rooting so I can't transplant it yet. Rooting powder speeds up the process and it can work but I just cut and potted it about a week ago. I'm thinking I'll put it on the screen porch at least for now.

You're counting your chicks long before they're rooted.

That's true dbarron. I guess I meant is it possible to turn a cutting from a bush into a bonsai.

Why not? It'll just take a while... once a plant roots, it's up to you (theoretically anyhow) what happens to it, whether you keep it as a houseplant, garden tree, etc... the plant doesn't know it's from a cutting, only that it has roots, leaves and (hopefully) sun and water. Cuttings have all the DNA in them that the plant they came from did, so replicate (theoretically) if given the right conditions. You develop it (eventually) into a bonsai or anything else you want.

If you try this again, you can root it in a 4" or 6" pot instead of such a big one.