Hello!
I'm very excited to start learning more about the art of Bonsai! After a few years of waiting and doing my research, I finally decided it was time to pick up a tree. I picked up this Japanese Boxwood with the intentions to start training this spring. My question is, did I pick too small of a tree to start training? Should I give this tree more time to grow? If so, are there any actions I can/should take to prepare this tree for future training? The picture seems to be a little distorted, here is a link to the picture
Thank You! Tree

This plant is a very slow growing species. The size of the trunk is the part that dictates the final size of the tree. This has quite a thin trunk and will be better grown on for a few years to thicken the trunk, even as a shohin the trunk is too thin. I think you should fertilise a lot for at least two years and see who much it grows, You could look to remove some of the lower growth so that the trunk is more visible. Have a look in spring at the roots and if it is pot bound then re pot into the next size up, only removing a minimal amount of roots.

Thank You! I will set this one aside and allow it to grow.

I am not sure I totally agree. When reading old bonsai books the rule of thumb is that the height of a bonsai should be typically 6-12 times the diameter of the trunk. I guess your trunk is 2 cm? Then you could start training a 12-24 cm high tree now. There are no exact rules for what is a shohin tree. But different sources suggest somewhere between 15 to 25 cm. In that case your tree is ready to start training as shohin tree. Trunk do grow also after training started, just so much slower. If your plan is to grow something smaller than 35 cm, some training can be started.

In the end it all depends on your vision for the end result and how much time you can spend to get there. Some of the most beatiful trees has been trained since very small, but that takes several decades.

Thank You! I will get some measurements and see exactly what I am working with.