My name is Matthew Harting, I have never been apart of a forum, or have ever posted like this online. So please correct me of any etiquette I should follow. I recently moved from Missouri to Alabama. While here I went to Walmart, and I bought a Chinese Elm that still had leaves on it. I re-potted it right away in a pot I made years ago. I had to do it cheap with the move and all. So I tried my best with the soil, I just needed something to do. I have one picture of it just for show. I have always wanted a bonsai tree so I had to buy it.

But the real reason I am posting on here is because I want to dig up a "red maple." I have kept it alive in my backyard for 7-10 years. Despite being hit with a weed wacker, and various other things. Anyway it has now really taken off in growth, and my mother who still lives in Missouri, no longer wants it to block her prairie garden. So now I can finally dig it up. I have attached photos of said tree. I plan on digging it up this fall/ winter and bringing it back to Alabama.


So I have questions, which you can just give me links to these topics, I have tried and tried to find articles but have no idea what to look for.

-Where I lived in Missouri I lived in zone 6a, here in Alabama I live in 8a. Will this be a harsh transition for a tree of that age?
-Is the tree a Red Maple?
-What size pot should I place this in?
-What should be done with it's first year in a pot?
-Will this tree adapt well to bonsai training?

I understand how to dig it out (and plant it of course). But what to do with it after that, is what I do not know.

hi Matthew, welcome.

before you dig it out I would suggest to consider the leaf size, as it seems too big in that picture, i would also say the nodes are too far apart, but as to if you can shrink them I do not know (via defoliation etc.).

just a bit of input, I know it's not much but it is all I am sure of what to consider.

Thanks for reading.