I think I have accidentally done the right thing.

Last summer, I was doing some yard work and found a little cedar in a flowerbed.  When I dug it up, I managed to get the whole root without any apparent damage.  So, I stuck it in a large pot of dirt, where some poppies were dying, to see if it would live through being uprooted.

So far, it’s not dead.

And, from what I’ve been reading, the first thing to do when you start growing bonsai is to get them through the winter without killing them.

It looks like this:

I believe it’s an Eastern Red Cedar.

The soil it’s in is too rich for actual bonsai, but it is a good medium for getting it started.  I may actually need to leave it in that pot for a couple for years before I start working the tree.