51cg

Hi, this is my first attempt at starting a bonsai. I went to my local nursery and picked up this juniper procumbens...i think...(sorry if I’m wrong, I am by no means an expert). So I read that it is ideal to re-pot in the spring. I live in Chicago, if that’s of any help or extra info that may be needed. As you can see the plant it still quite small and I’d still like to let it grow. I’d actually like more vertical growth so any advice on achieving that would be nice. But after reading I understand that pruning, cutting roots, and smaller pots help to inhibit growth. Sorry for the wall of text, so my question is, should I re-pot into a larger growers pot or just keep it in the nursery container it came in until next spring? Basically I’m just worried about the health of the tree if I were to re-pot when I should just leave it alone. Thanks!

Not sure if the photos are showing up or not.

So, I think I’ve understood that repotting implies pruning roots as well. Changing pot size should have no major effect on the plant. So rather than my original question. I’d just appreciate any advice on vertical growth. Like I mentioned it’s a brand new plant. Should I fertilize, wire to try to guide the growth, or is it still too small? Sorry, thinking I’m just being paranoid about damaging the tree.

If you want vertical growth, this species might not be ideal. It naturally grows in a crawling fashin. So to get it to go up, push a piece of bamboo in the pot and tie it up along it. Then leave it for a year to get stuck in that position.