Travis the leaves of the red maple are only red in the fall. Red maple leaves tend to have shallower notches between the lobs. Silver maples have pretty deep notches between the lobes. These turn more yellowish in the fall. I have both of these in my yard hear in New England. I have seen sugar maples in my areas but have none on my property. I believe their leaves are pointier than red maples but less so than silver maples. All of these species can make maple syrup. The sugar maple just has a better sugar to water content. So it is what is typically used.

I have a red maple I rescued from under my garden fence. It is pretty meager and qualifies as a very simple beginning. Right now I am just learning to keep it alive in a pot. So it is more of a test subject than a tree in training. I did hear these guys do not reduce their leave size much so it will need to be a pretty big Bonsai someday. So there might not be any updates for a while on this guy

Thank you, I also have a red maple his leafs are still red and starting to tint green except it's new leafs there bright red. The tree in my yard looks like it's a sugar maple I'm still looking it up I could be wrong.

El Cheezer, I like how you worked on the first tree. You did a good job placing the primary branches and growing the new leader. I would have personally cut a lot lot shorter. The material wasn't great to start with, but your work shows it is possible to learn Bonsai principles with cheap material. I call these "practice trees". Now go ahead and get some better stuff

Now you got me thinking again about going shorter...

They are great little practice trees. Both are no hassle, and remind me about how nice it is to work on stuff, without any of the stress or pressure that comes with better material.

And I would get better stuff, but I'm a real cheapskate!

leatherback wrote: So... I am looking for your trees with the most simple of beginnings..

Thanks for inviting us Leatherback.
I have a sad story to share, with a new beginning.
My NZ Tea Tree bonsai has died. Totally my fault, of course: Experts say it's one of the most difficult bonsai ever, that is not fit for newbies, and most of all, "DON'T touch its roots!". Successful ones have their roots pruned only 1/4 of the total every reppoting, every year, at the right time.
But I was stubborn, didn't care, and repotted my tree twice in the same year, AND pruned the roots. First time all right, second time, death.
So after much thinking, I have decided to grow another one from seed (the tiniest seeds you ever imagined!) and wait some two decades to have a bonsai trained from the start.
In the meantime, I will learn.
So yesterday, even being Autumn around here, the seeds began to sprout! I am happy, took some pictures, and hope to keep this progression going for a long time!:woohoo:

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Ensure lots of air movement & allow the soil to dry before you water. Seedlings are very water sensitive, and often prefer to be on the dryish side (But never reallly dry!), or fungus may hit your initial succes.

Have fun!

leatherback wrote: Seedlings are very water sensitive, and often prefer to be on the dryish side...

Well, thanks for the tip, I guess I have been watering the small pots too often...

leatherback wrote: Have fun!

I will, for sure!

Awesome! I am a beginner and I have only one tree... but would absolutely love an olive just like yours.

Thank you Madcat. So.. Start one! Isaw an olive at the local nursery again that would be ideal for this work. So go to a nursery where they sell olives, and start looking at the base of the trunk. If you see a swelling at the soil line do a little exploring, poking for the roots and to feel whether the trunk continues belowground. That is how I found this one. Take it home, and cut back drastically.

I find that the key to getting good material is spending time looking for it, and nt settle to easily. Originally I would go to a nursery with the aim to take 1 or 2 plants home. So invariably I can home with plants that were just not ideal. I am now will to visit a series of nurseries and not find anything i like. (I did buy a maple yesterday though..)

some of my junk, Ilex Schilling, Pond Cypress and my little forest of Slash Pine seedlings all in found pots from thrift stores that I drilled drainage holes. Except the Cypress, it loves the water so no drainage