Thanks for all the replies. My shefflera is not very big. It came from a cutting 3 years ago of a favorite aunt who passed away so it is a very special plant to us. It has two trunks - one about 10 inches tall and one about 14 inches tall. The trunks are about 2 1/2 inches apart. With that being said, does anyone have any suggestions on what they would do? Stupid question - I know I have alot of research to do - but what comes first - repotting, cutting back, or trimming roots? Also - where do y'all get your tools from? An online source? And I have a very wide array of pots, not necessarily bonsai pots, but I did start buying up pots 3 years ago at every yard sale I came accross in the anticipation of having a small greenhouse someday. Any tips on what to look for in a pot? Has anyone ever heard of a ZZ plant - it is a houseplant sitting on my desk right now, 4 trunks, growing straight up, shiny evergreen leaves. Looks like it might be a good bonsai candidate. I reckon I will go jump on google right now and research a little before work. Thanks again

cave creek canyon.. That mamas cross, is fairly old, several years.. one of my oldest crosses still surviving, it was from the first year I ever bought anything from the lily auction.. I dont think I spent more then 3 bucks on a cross back then. it was orginally just a fun thing to do one winter, those years crosses are all mostly moved, or trashed, sometimes you really get what you pay for. Silverkelt

Your pictures are VERY cool. Thank you so much for sharing them with us. We'll be looking forward to more. It's fine to post them here, but thought I'd take the opportunity to remind folks that the Texas Garden Web also has a Texas Gallery. I happened to notice on the Cottage Garden Forum that someone asked how many people visited the Cottage Garden Gallery. About a third of the people responding said they didn't even know there was a gallery! There is also a conversation page as well as this discussion page. Look at the upper right on the opening page of this forum and you will see the links to those. There's a lot of great pictures on the gallery and also links to garden tours. We have a lot of fun and informative discussions on those two forums as well as this one! Happy gardening everyone! Here is a link that might be useful: Texas Garden Web Gallery

Judy - that is really cute - I have to try that one (especially when you say "no plugins needed". Tomorrow - I'll give it a go for sure - company for dinner tonight. Elaine