Tip #1 - never buy "bonsai" with glued down gravel.
Tip #2 - never buy "bonsai" at walmart, target, k-mart or a grocery store.
Johnny,
what you have is not really bonsai..what you have is commonly known as "mallsai"..
(which means "fake bonsai sold at the mall")
its a houseplant or a juniper put in a cheap "bonsai pot" so it looks vaugely like Bonsai and can be charged an outragious price..
Your plant could maybe become a good bonsai tree someday!
with good training, and if its good source material.
A "bonsai tree" is not any one specific plant or tree species.
Normally bonsai trees are made from native trees, native to the region,
like Maples, Oaks, Pines, Cedars, all kinds of different plants.
They stay outdoors every hour of every day of the year, they are not indoor plants.
there are some "indoor bonsai" made from tropical houseplants, but most bonsai enthusiasts would not consider them "real" bonsai..with the possible exception of Serissa and Ficus.
First, we need to know what kind of plant it is!
this is vitally important for its proper care.
We have to know if it MUST stay indoors all winter (a tropical houseplant)
or if it MUST stay outside all winter! (any native north american tree)
Can you take a picture of it and post it?
or email a pic to me and I will post it for you:
sscotsman at yahoo dot com.
if its a juniper, im sorry, but its probably already dead.
Scot