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Hi guys,
New tonthe forum and new to the bonsai world. My adventure started by chance, one of the chestnuts i was keeping in the cupboard sprouted and i thought to plant it. Sure enough after about 2 weeks here i am with a healthy looking tree

I've done a bit reading here and there but i still have a few questions because often the info i've found is a little conflicting:
1)i've read that before i do anything to the tree i need about 3 years of unrestricted growth; is that really the case?
2) since the tree is now in a plastic bottle, is it time to repot it even if it's about 2 weeks old (it's in a bottle because i didn't really think it would live)
Thanks

Hi, and welcome.

Yes, that is true. And I would say.. Make that 10 years of growth. You see, bonsai are mostly created using fairly mature trees. The best bonsai are created from trees that are over a hundred years old (!).

So do a bit more reading on how bonsi are created.

As soon as possible, tis plant should be outside. you can repot it in a pot that will drain water. Better yet, plant it in the garden for a while.

Thanks for that. I'm relocating soon, so as soon as that's done I will repot it in a proper vase, I should be able to put it outside although is it a good idea now in the winter? There will be a lot of hard frost.
Will definitely do a bit more reading as I'm really new to the subject. In the meanwhile, is there anything really important that I need to do, like, removing leaves and things like that other than repotting it and keep it outside?
thanks

I wouldn't do anything to it other than letting it grow grow grow. That includes no leaf pruning. If I may, chestnuts have very large leaves that are up to 8" (~20cm) long. I'm not sure how much reduction can happen, but I don't expect it to be less than half that. In order to have the leaves look proportional in a smaller scale for bonsai, the tree itself will need to be very large. That's a lot of growing to do! And with many years to do it.
That's not to be discouraging - there are nice chestnut bonsai out there. But be prepared for a decade of growth before things start taking shape. Stick that seedling in the ground and let it grow!
Keep studying and best of luck.

brkirkland22 wrote: I'm not sure how much reduction can happen, but I don't expect it to be less than half that.

If I look at full grown leafs on one of my chestnuts, and reduced ones on another one, I'd say that reduction to 1/4th certainly is possible, probably more.

Auk wrote: If I look at full grown leafs on one of my chestnuts, and reduced ones on another one, I'd say that reduction to 1/4th certainly is possible, probably more.

Cooool!

brkirkland22 wrote:

Auk wrote: If I look at full grown leafs on one of my chestnuts, and reduced ones on another one, I'd say that reduction to 1/4th certainly is possible, probably more.

Cooool!

It's an interesting experiment. It will take years before it is going to be presentable though. Due to the leaf size (even when reduced) I need a big fat trunk.

Several of my trees are simply part of the 'design' of my garden, just growing there, waiting to get big enough. It's there, behind the tulips - leafs were 2/3rd of the normal size. There's another one behind it (not visible) that has leaves less than half of the size of this one. That garden is barren now, looks like a wasteland. I so much look forward to spring...

Auk wrote:

brkirkland22 wrote:

Auk wrote: If I look at full grown leafs on one of my chestnuts, and reduced ones on another one, I'd say that reduction to 1/4th certainly is possible, probably more.

You are talking about a different plant family altogether I think. The chstnut discussed is an edible nut, Castanea sativa, not the "horse chestnut", Aesculus spp.

leatherback wrote: You are talking about a different plant family altogether I think. The chstnut discussed is an edible nut, Castanea sativa, not the "horse chestnut", Aesculus spp.

Yep. I should have seen that.

Thanks for the advices guys, I'll let it grow then. And yes, sorry maybe I wasn't clear but I was referring to the edible chestnut and not the horse chestnut, still, leaves look as if will be very large.