Hi all! Before I get on with the topic I'd just like to say that I'm new to this site, new to Bonsai, and new to growing plants/trees in general. I'm looking to get into working with Bonsai the hard and fast way, so I'm prepared to have mistakes and failures as part of the learning process.
I've decided to try working with a large range of shrubs and trees right from the get-go, at varying levels of maturity. I'm hoping with a larger number of Bonsai growing, I'll have more to do to keep me busy and learning, but if it doesn't work out well I may just focus on a couple at once. I suppose we'll see how it goes
This post is an attempt to get some help with one particular tree I'd like to some day begin training, a Winter Sweet (Chimonanthus praecox). It was grown from a seed, and it's now about 5 years old (possibly a year older). The base of the plant is starting to thicken out, but it isn't remarkably thick or strong at this point. There's some sparse foliage around the branches, but as yet the plant hasn't managed to bloom come winter.
My father tells me he didn't take particularly good care of it, and pretty much just watered it occasionally. It hasn't been repotted (until today) for at least four years. Today when my father told me I could use it for training/experimenting, we pulled it out of it's pot to take a look at the root structure, and get rid of all the weeds that had grown around and up the base of the Winter Sweet. There was a good amount of dead roots which were removed, as well as the weed roots, but also a good deal of healthy roots. We removed a small percentage of the dead roots and loosened what remained, and then repotted it in some new soil.
I suppose what I'm looking for here are some suggestions on how to get it healthy and growing when spring comes. I'm new to Bonsai and growing plants in general so any suggestions would be welcome. I'm aware that this particular plant can be difficult to train, but I imagine it will be a couple of years before I know the plant is healthy enough for any manipulation.
I'll provide pictures if necessary too. Bit dark to be taking them at the moment
