I stuck several trimmings last year into some dirt and ignored them for a while. Now they all have leaf buds starting to swell, but are less than a year old. Do I wait another year or put them in pots now? Species are Dawn Redwood, a Japanese cherry, a different Japanese cherry, and a Hong Kong orchid. The HK orchids are inside and the others are outside, cut from trees in the yard. The advice on the website here is to be patient. I can do that but how patient?

let them grow for a year. then mae a plan for the size you need to get a bonsai.

buds are not rots yet.

now is the time i would transplant them into their own pots. with the energy moving into the tree that is your last oppertunity to transplant them before the leaf out. then fall is your next oppertunity. i live in west virginia and just transplanted some whips into pots last week!

Listen to Leatherback. He does know what he is talking about.

Unless they are clumped together, wait as leatherback said.
He's been doing it for a long time.