For a short anwser yes. But, its like the lottery. Your chance of reproducing the exact characteristic well known are minimal. To be in context, bonsai enthusiast often praise a specific species for its characteristics that adpat well to bonsai growing techniques. For example, small leaves and small internodes are quality sougth after.

You can find these specific characteristics present in all japanese black pines (Pinus thunbergiana). But some growers have found a certain plant, that as even more pronunciated specific characteristics. From that plant, they have reproduce it by cloning technique such as cuttings or layering. This plant was attributed a name, wich is called cultivar.

To continue our example, the common name of japanese black pine is Pinus thunbergiana, but a cultivar would be Pinus thunbergiana yatsubusa. This yatsubusa is a cultivar of the japanese black being known for its short needles and short internodes compare to the general japanese black pines. Another example of a cultivar would be Nishiki Matsu which is known to offer a japanese black pine with a cork like bark.

But can growing bonsai from seeds reproduce these characteristics ? Yes and no. We say yes and no, because, you cannot reproduce 100% the same genetics as the known cultivar but you can reproduce another genetic sets that will have the same characteristics, ie: short needles or cork bark. Furthermore, you can produce an even more pronounced dwarf plant, or with leafed trees, a new color of leaves perhaps.

Bonsai seeds, as in seeds from a bonsai tree dont exist. Growing seeds from a bonsai tree will not guarantee a bonsai. All seeds are tree seeds since a bonsai is fundamentally a tree. But some trees have been found to produce seeds that will mimic the parent characteristics. The yatsubusa tree seeds are one of them. Yatsubusa, which is japanese for witch broom, is a genetic disease caused by a fungi. When a tree is affected by this disease, it will produce dwarf shoots, and seeds produce will inherit the disease because it is genetics. Chinese elms, Trident maples and japanese black pines are three known species that have this yatsubusa disease.

One of the primary methods used to limit the size of a bonsai tree is pruning. Pruning is the careful remove of parts of the tree to shape it and limit the size. Properly pruning your bonsai is critical for the health and design of your tree.

The frequency and degree of pruning is heavily dependant on the size, age and type of tree being pruned. Deciduous saplings are not pruned at all the first year and are usually only pruned once the second year. With conifers it is best not to prune them at all until the third year.

If you are trying to increase the trunk thickness of a deciduous tree that is 3 to 5 years old you should cut it back twice a year. You should wait to do this cutting until the tree has grown to about 2/3rds of the planned final height. How many leaves you leave on the tree depends on the size and shape of crown that you are trying to develop. Usually you will leave from 1 to 8 leaves.

Mature trees that are more developed are usually not pruned until there are 5 to 8 leaves on the shoots. While the tree is growing the there is a hormone released from growing shoots that flows downward under the inner bark (bast) that prohibits buds from forming below. When you remove the growing shoot then the hormone production stops so the next bud down will start to develop. Since the development of this new bud starts producing the hormone again you will only get one new bud to start growing.

If a shoot has any leaves growing on it then the tips are usually removed in the late summer. This gives the shoot time to thicken and harden to survive over the winter and to develop new buds. The method used to remove these tips is called pinching and is normally done with tweezers or your finger tips. This will cause the tree to stop growing for the season and start preparing for winter. However, if the soil nitrates are high then the tree will probably continue growing instead of preparing for its winter dormacy.

If you need to remove large branches from deciduous trees it is best done during the peak growing season. This peak season runs from early spring until mid summer. If you do the cutting during this time the cut area will heal much faster. When removing large branches you should use concave or wen cutters. These create a concave wound that will heal better with less scarring. You should always use a wound sealant to help protect the tree. Japanese paste works very well and is easily removed once the cut has healed.

With conifers you can safely remove large branches even during the winter as well as during the growing season. On a conifer you might want to consider leaving part of the branch intact on the tree. This can be turned in to a jin for cosmetic appeal.

Proper pruning is critical for the proper development of your tree. It allows you to control the size and appearance to create exactly the visual image that you want. Like many things proper pruning takes time and practice. Be patient and if in doubt about removing something then leave it. You can always cut it off later.

An important part of the art of Bonsai is guiding the tree into the desired shape. If you follow the traditional Japanese style of Bonsai you will try to create a tree like one that can be found in nature, but you may exaggerate some of the elements for style purposes.

You will have to know what you want your tree to look like before you can start shaping it. You should be able create an image in your mind of exactly how you want your tree to appear. Once you have decided on the style and shape there are several methods used to guide your bonsai into the shape you desire.

Two very common and basic methods of shaping the tree are wiring and anchoring.

Wiring

When you wire a tree you use a metal wire to hold a section of the tree into the shape that you want. Wiring has the advantage of training the tree to the desired shape quicker than most other methods.

Since it is softer aluminum wire is used to wire most branches. When using aluminum wire you will need to use a thicker wire to hold the branch in place. The thicker wire is less likely to cut into the bark, which greatly reduces the risk of scarring. When training heavier branches or changing the shape of the trunk a stronger wire will be needed. In this case you will probably need to use copper or even steel wire.

To wire a branch you simply wrap the branch with wire and then gently bend it into the position that you want. You leave the wire in place to hold the branch until it is capable of holding that shape unassisted. Once you wire a branch you will need to watch it closely to be sure that the branch has not thickened to the point that the wire is cutting into the bark. You need to be especially vigilant with deciduous trees because they tend to thicken in spurts.

You should always start your wire on thicker branches and work your way up to the thinner ones. Your wiring job will be more stable if you use one wire to wire two branches. If you notice your wire getting tight remove it to avoid scarring. If the branch still will not stay in position you can re-wrap it to accommodate its new size.

Anchoring

Frequently a branch that is several years old will be too thick, in this case wiring the branch will not be very effective. For branches like this anchoring will probably work better. Anchoring works by pulling the branch into the position you want and keeping it there.

You start by looping a wire or string over the branch you want to anchor. Any place that the string or wire touches the tree you will need to protect the bark by covering the wire or string with a soft rubber tube. The other end is secured to the container or another branch to hold the limb in the position you want. If you secure it to another branch be sure to use the protective tubing on this end as well, you also need to be sure that you do not pull the anchor limb out of its position.