I collected more than 20 of these little fellows about ten years ago. Most were suckers on the roots of large trees but many had one or two reasonably good looking roots with some hair roots. Most did not survive as long as a year. A few did, and I made
a respectable forest, which now is down to five independent trees. The few that I potted individually lived a few years and then died without explanation.

Based on my experience, I would echo the advice given you so far: having separated the trees from their parents, leave them in the ground a full growing season in hope that they will develop some roots of their own. You might try feeding them with some Su
per Triple Phosphate, which I think is 0-0-45, and stimulates root growth, or 5-10-10 (or 10-20-20) if you can find it.

The American beech has leaves which are rather large for bonsai. In fact, I believe that I lost a couple of small trees from my forest because they were too heavily shaded by their big brothers. I have not made any effort to reduce the leaves, being suff
iciently grateful to have survivors to that I haven't wanted to do anything drastic to them. They develop buds during the growing season which open the following spring -- and they are the last of my trees to open, so don't despair if they seem slow.

All this having been said, their seamless grey bark is as attractive in a pot as it is in the forest (don't let any mud men carve their initials or valentine-style hearts down low to make them look like trees in a forest growing too near to "civilization")
and they are worth the effort.

Edmund L. Castillo in Loudoun Co., VA

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