Japanese Maple - Maintain, cut and overwinter bonsai

Content

• Japanese Maple - Maintain, cut and overwinter bonsai
• Location
• Pouring and fertilizing
• Cutting and wire
• overwinter
• Diseases and other disorders
• Suitable varieties
• Tips

The Fuchsahorn is a particularly attractive bonsai due to its beautiful color

Japanese Maple - Maintain, cut and overwinter bonsai

The Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) is a very varied species of maple. Over the centuries, numerous breeds have emerged from it, in particular because this tree is very popular in his native Japan for a bonsai culture. Especially interesting for this purpose is Red Maple, as it offers a distinctive sight all year round thanks to its eye-catching foliage color.

Professionally cut fan maple professionally

Location

Japanese maple needs a bright and sheltered location, which does not provide sun all day long. Most varieties are satisfied with morning and afternoon solar radiation, but want to stand in mid-summer and at lunchtime rather in the light shade. In strong radiation, the leaves can wither through sunburn, also due to drafts can lead to a leaf tip drought.

Pouring and fertilizing

When it comes to water consumption, the fan maple is a bit complicated: it likes to be damp and should not dry out if possible - but the tree is not really too moist. The exotic does not tolerate waterlogging at all, which is why you should also ensure good drainage. Fertilization takes about every three to four weeks with a liquid fertilizer, whereby you should first reduce the gifts - at least during an overwintering in the open air - until around the beginning / middle of August and then stop them.

Cutting and wire

In contrast to other maple species, the Japanese maple is generally cut friendly, but should only be cut in the months of May and June and should always be treated with a wound closure agent (preferably tree wax). For a finer branching and smaller leaves after sprouting, a pruning of the shoot tips. Wiring will be in June, but the wire should be removed at the latest after half a year.

overwinter

Actually, the Japanese Maple is a hardy tree that is used to long and snowy winters from its native Japan. However, as the plant stands as a bonsai in shallow bowls, their roots can quickly be damaged by frost. For this reason, Japanese Maple should in principle only stay out with a good winter protection or winter free from frost at a maximum of six degrees Celsius.

Diseases and other disorders

Like all maples, the fan maple is very susceptible to the fungus-induced Verticillium wilt, in which the leaves and then the shoots dry up suddenly and apparently without reason. Up to now there is no effective remedy for this disease, in most cases the laboriously cultivated tree is doomed to die. Only a repot in fresh substrate as well as a drastic pruning can sometimes cause a salvation.

Suitable varieties

Traditionally, especially the following varieties of the Japanese maple are trained to bonsai:

Tips

Up to the age of about 10 years, Japanese maple is repotted every two years, then every five years.