AusBonsai

I had a Red Maple at home in the garden for a few years that has ended up being unsuitable, so I decided to dig it up and do a trunk chop this year in Winter and have a go with it for bonsai.

It hasn't produced any buds on the trunk, but recently has shot a sucker up from the base. My question is should I remove the sucker to encourage buds on the trunk? I know the trunk is still green and alive. I did the same trunk chop with a slightly smaller Trident Maple and that has shot all over the trunk no problems. Photos below.

Cheers for any advice

There might not be any dormant buds on the trunk. if not it will never shoot. You should confirm before you cut. It may still shoot from a bud you cannot see but I would keep the ''sucker'' for now. It is quite safe to pinch out the tip of the sucker to keep it from running away.