You're assumption is correct. This is a Juniperus procumbens 'Nana' cutting in a bonsai pot. Do take the rocks off. Do leave the tree outside. Although it's almost certain that the soil in which this cutting is growing is less than optimal, it's getting kind of late in the season to do repotting. There's so much to discuss, I don't really know where to begin so I'll direct you to these excellent articles at the evergreengardenworks site. There are links within the articles leading to other articles discussing imortant concept in more depth. I realize it will be impossible to digest all of it...
http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/bonsaip.htm
http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/bonsaibe.htm

Casey

Thanks for the quick reply, MrCasey. Last night I carefully removed all of the glued on rocks, but the pot was really lacking and didn't seem to have much soil afterwards. So I ended up cleaning the rocks by boiling them to get the glue off (this worked somewhat well) and I placed the new, much looser rocks back in the pot. Will this be okay? I happen to like the way they look.

Also, I will hold of on repotting until early Spring 2006. Will I have to do much in terms of pruning?

The main reason those glued on rocks are taken off is because of the lack of water penetration into the soil. I dont know how much soil is left, but I hope thereÂs a goodly amount in the pot.

About pruning

"Little bonsai do not become large bonsai".
-Brent Walston

Bonsai hobbyists who start their trees from a very early stage donÂt put cuttings or germinated seeds into Japanese looking pots and grow the trees from the base up. They take their material, grow it out in the ground or large container, cut the tree way down, work on secondary branch placement and then begin thinking about putting the tree in a pot.

Another appropriate Walston quote: "I donÂt grow trees, I grow trunks". To approach any success with this juniper, this must become your mantra as well. You want to grow a fat trunk, with a flaring base, a radial root structure, and taper. These things are primarily what create the illusion of a miniature tree with great age. Everything else will come much later. Pruning for secondary branch structure at this stage is only counter productive. I realize the coolness of having a juniper in a little pot and crafting it with pruners and fingers. ItÂs very satisfying and lots of fun. You must fight this urge if you want to have a decent looking little mame bonsai in a few years. If you succumb, youÂll never have anything but a juniper cutting in a little rectangular pot.
Straight up, Scott - if you want to use this juniper with that pot, your best bet would be to wait till next spring and put it in the ground or in 1 gallon pot with good bonsai soil. Starting with the caliper of plant youÂve got, it will take several years for the proportions to look correct with that pot.

The shallow rectangular pot is usually used for styles like informal upright, formal upright, and variations on those styles. Most J. procumbens ÂNanaÂ, because of their growth habit are made into cascading or informal uprights. Here are some standard foundational proportions and rules for informal uprights and pots in which theyÂre contained.

The trunk should be at least a sixth of the final height of the tree.
The first branch should be about a third of the way up from the base on the outside of a curve.
The branches should usually be less than a third the thickness of the trunk from where it emanates.
The length of the pot is usually roughly 2/3 of the height of the tree.

So if your pot is, say, 6 inches long, youÂll want a tree about 9 inches tall. This means that the trunk should have a diameter of about 1 1/2 inches.
Of course, these rules are somewhat arbitrary, but they are good guidelines for achieving a miniature tree which gives the impression of great age.

Here are some junipers (which arenÂt J. procumbens ÂNanaÂ) which should give you an idea of what good juniper bonsai look like. Notice the thick trunks, the flaring base, and the movement of the trunk. Notice the gravity produced by these design elements.

Here's a juniper taken from a link to the Montreal Botanical Gardens. I don't know who the artist is.

http://www.lafferty.ca/photos/Montreal/Montreal_Botanical_Gardens_2001/15-100-yr-old-juniper.jpg

Here's a juniper styled by world renowned bonsai artist Ernie Kuo.

http://www.interworx.com.au/users/brian/ern.jpg

Here are some junipers sold in big box stores which arenÂt really bonsai - but which could be grown out in the ground and eventually become potential bonsai starting material after many years. Notice the lack of trunk thickness compared to the height of the trees. Notice the lack of a flaring base or radial root structure. A person would do just as well to buy a pot and a 5 dollar Juniperus procumbens 'Nana' from X-mart.

http://i.walmart.com/i/p/00/00/00/02/04/0000000204072_150X150.jpg
http://www.bestpricegiftbaskets.com/~comp68587/46323874.jpg

Casey