What branching does it have? And what have you got it in pot-wise? I hope you're not planning on doing work til the spring however - it's deciduous.

This post was edited by moochinka on Wed, Nov 5, 14 at 17:52

It has no branching at this point. The alternating leaves have a bud for next year. It is in a oblong 2" deep pot about 4" X 5". I have it planted in a mixture of my own(lava rock, baked clay, mulch and some peat moss). I am ready to fertilize it w/ a low nitrogen food for the winter and will protect the roots in case of freezing temps. Other than that, I will plan for the spring. I was wondering if I should top the plant, in the spring, to force some branch growth, or can the main trunk be shaped?

What I would do - now - is get it into a deeper pot in as much of one piece as you can... not a 'repot', just a transfer, because 2" is going to be hard to get development going... though I understand your wanting to spread roots out. You can keep the spread, but allow new feeder roots to go deeper for now and you can always change the pot again in future once things are moving. I'd also skip the peat and the mulch, maybe add some crumbled bark instead.

Here's a couple of things to look at -

http://kwanten.home.xs4all.nl/bonsai.htm

http://guide.makebonsai.com/bonsai_species_guide_training.asp?SpeciesID=5022&Name=Ginkgo_biloba