Hello everybody!
I am a newbie in the world of bonsai and here I am to ask some questions.

I recently received a bonsai for my birthday and I decided to further expand my experience by trying to grow/take care of other bonsais.

I noticed a baby maple (8-10 inches more or less) in my garden (we have a big maple in front of my house in Toronto) and decided to pick it up and put it in a small pot to grow it into a bonsai one day. I pulled it easily since it was in between two pieces of woods. Here are my questions:

- Was it a good idea to pick it up and put it in a small pot with some soil from the garden itself?
- How old it is? Considering that is around 8-10 inches and has a few leaves.
- Should I wait for pruning it in any way?
- Should I bring it inside for the winter or it will probably survive since it is a 'regional' tree?

Thanks a lot for your help!

Hi and welcome to the site.

This is probably a seedling from this year. So give or take, 6 months of age.

In order to grow a bonsai you start of will getting roots and a trunk. In a small pot neither will develop well. The easiest way to get it to grow out it by planting in the ground. Or you can grow it in ever increasing pots, whichever you prefer.

For now, just let it grow. Lets see come march what it looks like.