Hi there, I have what may seem like a newbie question, or a beginner question, but I hope you can share some wisdom with me.

I have been accumulating a few little plants to practice on, including a sloe berry tree, a Berberis atropurpurea nana, a little Euonymus winged spindle, two 1-2 year old maple seedlings, and a few others. They're cheap and I like them, so why not. :)

There are two things that I find really difficult, both relating to chopping off the top (as I scientifically call it).

1) in a few of my little pre-bonsai, the tops have been quite aggressively chopped, leaving a big (1") flat stump at the top. I really have no idea how to approach this. Should I leave the plants to grow on, thicken out, or is there something a person does to smooth that out?

2) in the maple and crabapple saplings, they still have the apical tip growing away merrily. Is there a point at which I should cut that off to force branching? Or should I let them grow on in a nice deep pot and thicken up so I can then clip and get the branching started?

Sorry again if these seem like silly questions, but everyone has to start somewhere. :)

Thanks!

kat