I got this lovely little Juniper Bonsai for Christmas (hopefully the pic works this time!)

I'm so excited! I've always wanted a Bonsai! However, I'm not sure where to start with it. I would love to shape it to be an informal upright (I think that's the name for it) but I'm not sure if my tree has the right starting shape for that... Does anyone have any suggestions for my first steps in shaping my tree, and what shape would work really well for it? I really am just unsure of how to start working with my tree.

Another question I have is should the soil be really compact? My tree is getting sufficient water but the soil feels really dense around the tree, I'm not sure if that is normal or expected, but just an observation I had when watering it!

Thank you in advance! I'm so excited to learn all about Bonsai

Hmm so after finding the search function (I was accidentally using the site search) I am embarrassed and wish I could delete my topic! Looks like I received an "overpriced stick in the dirt" heh... Oh well. Guess I'll give it a few years before I start trying to work with it, then? Had no idea the trunk needed to be bigger in order for it to be a real Bonsai that I can work with!

Ahh Finally. There is hope for you yet. In my short time on this site I have seen this questioned asked about maybe 100-150 times. Places sell these cuttings or young plants as bonsai and people get buy them thinking they have something then get discouraged. The best advice I can give you is to find a bonsai club/group in your area or take some online bonsai classes. Bonsai Empire has a great class for $29.99 USD. Craftsy.com has a free wiring class taught by Colin Lewis which I took and think it was very good for beginners. If you learn better from books I just got through reading The Bonsai Book of Practical Facts by Jerome Meyer now it was published in 1988 but it has great general knowledge that is timeless. If you can go to some bonsai shows near you that is also a plus. The smaller shows don't always have high quality trees like you might see online but the more you experience the more you learn. Godspeed Barksoul

Bonsai Bender wrote: Places sell these cuttings or young plants as bonsai and people get buy them thinking they have something then get discouraged.

It is pretty discouraging! But that's alright... I gotta start somewhere! Though it's a shame that now I feel like I haven't truly "started" yet. I am definitely going to take BonsaiEmpire's class while I search for a new tree. I also recently got "The Bonsai Book" by Don Barton that I am going to read through. Do you have any suggestions on where to buy an actual starter Bonsai? Is there a certain minimum size I should look for in the trunk? Now that I know to look for this, it seems all Juniper "Bonsai" I have seen for sale are just the "stick in the dirt" type and not actually trained trees.

Thank you for all the suggestions!

There are 4 types of material: nursery stock, yamadori (or collected from the wild), starting from seed, and purchasing a trained bonsai or pre bonsai. As far as trunk size "In Bonsai. a rule of thumb is: The diameter of the trunk at the lowest point determines the maximum height of the tree. If the diameter is for instance 5 cm (2 inches) the tree can be 6-12 times the diameter, in other words 30-60 cm (1-2 foot), high. The canopy of the tree typically starts at about 1/3 of the height of the tree. In this example that would be at roughly 10cm (4 inches) above the soil. Side-branches should not be thicker than 1/3 of the thickness of the trunk at the attachment location." www.bonsaiempire.com/blog/bonsai-trunk-creation

Barksoul: My standard advice... take a class and do a lot of reading before you buy something. I got the same present (which died) and I'm looking forward to my future in this hobby/art. That present sparked an interest I've had for years, but never nurtured it.
So far... I've only had 3 tress die under my watch. But it's only been 1 year!
Best of luck.