Hi, All -

I recently acquired a ceanothus gloriosus from a local nursery - not common material for pre-bonsai, but curious to see what I'm able to do with it. The problem is, about an inch below the soil surface, a wild network of roots plagues the aesthetic. I noticed this mess prior to purchasing the plant, but it has some other strong characteristics that have me hopeful, so I'm determined to make the most of it. Ideally, I'd plant this sucker right in the ground and let it grow out a few years. Unfortunately, as an apartment dweller, this isn't an option for me. Curious as to what the best possible alternative might be? I'm eager to get it out of the nursery pot because its quite evidently cramped, but I'm not sure whether to prune back the roots and plant into a ceramic training pot, or simply step it up to a larger nursery-style container. Thanks in advance for the input. Let me know if any additional information would be helpful (can't upload pictures at this time, but I'll try and get around to it).

what to do with the roots would kid of depend on how far away the trunk is from being the thickness and length you are looking for. The least invasive way would just be to buy a bigger pot that is maybe 1/4 or 1/3 again larger than the current pot and wait to see how the plant makes it through the growing season.
I'm not sure how experienced you are, though.

I'm also not really familiar with the species. Some need to be repotted at specific times, so, if you do decide to prune the roots, and not just slip-pot the plant, check to see that you are doing this at the right time.

You can take a few years to reduce the mess. Thin out the roots taking the most obvisou offenders now. And potting up with out much damage to the rest. Next year, take a few other ones and that way slowly pare down the rootbal.