Exquisite Japanese Bonsai: Miniature Maple
For connoisseurs of bonsai, maple, sakura and mountain pine are true symbols of this ancient art. But if evergreen pine needles make the appearance of a tree unchanged throughout the year, sakura is especially attractive in spring, during flowering, then maple is a bright palette of autumn on the extraordinary openwork foliage.
Maples are common throughout the northern hemisphere. Bonsai culture is traditionally dominated by the Far Eastern, Chinese and Japanese varieties, but the growing popularity of this area of plant growing has made it possible to include varieties from Europe, the Caucasus and the North American continent in the list of species.
Types of maple trees for growing bonsai
Among the species suitable for growing bonsai are Japanese maple and Norway maple, Monpellian maple, field and rock maple. The trees of the palm-shaped maple with fancifully cut leaf plates are in special demand. The leaves of this species remain red, contrastingly edged, light yellow or purple, not only in autumn, but throughout the year. This species should not be confused with red maple, which is also grown as a bonsai. Its five-toed leaves only by autumn gradually change their outfit and the appearance of the crown as a whole. Ash-leaved maple, easy to form, unpretentious and also having varieties with variegated or silvery foliage, fell into the sphere of interests of bonsai connoisseurs from the USA and Canada.
It is not surprising that small trees with red, yellow or any other bright foliage are the most attractive for flower growers. Therefore, unscrupulous sellers often "play" on this by offering blue maple seeds for bonsai. Don't believe empty promises. If shoots appear from such seeds, at best they will turn out to be an ordinary maple with green leaves. Although it is impossible to grow blue maple, bonsai with purple, carmine, red or orange leaves is a reality.
There are many examples of varieties used for red maple bonsai, however, due to the low content of chlorophyll, which supports the nutrition of the tree, such plants are weaker than their green counterparts and need special attention.
Decorative forms are more likely to suffer from sunburn, frost and cold wind, and their brightness directly depends on the choice of location. In the shade, reds, burgundy and crimson hues may fade.
Another highlight of the Japanese bonsai maple is the plant with heavily dissected, palm-like leaves. Such views look great in cascading falling compositions, but are not suitable for beginners due to their rather capricious disposition and morbidity.
But dwarf maple varieties in bonsai are unpretentious and, as it were, help a person with their formation. They do not tend to grow up, but form a dense crown covered with small foliage that preserves its natural appearance.
Conditions for growing maple bonsai
Maples feel good in central Russia, but as a bonsai, this tree suffers more from external influences and needs a careful choice of place of residence.
The most common maples in bonsai, palm-shaped and fan-shaped maples, can be sore and have difficulty growing:
- in direct sunlight, especially in the southern regions;
- in the wind or drafts;
- in thick shade.
However, when it comes to choosing between light and shade, it is better to expose the pot to the sun, which in the central part of the country will not cause serious harm. In the sun, the tree forms smaller leaves, which eliminates the need to remove buds and does not weaken the plant. In addition, foliage colors in full sun are brighter and more attractive.
If in the summer, as in the photo, the maple bonsai is taken out into the open air, it must be protected from the wind, otherwise a plant with a trimmed root system risks losing its balance and falling out of a shallow pot.
Maples, both in nature and at home at low temperatures, do not tolerate excessive humidity and insufficient supply of fresh air. In such conditions, bonsai is attacked by harmful fungi that cause powdery mildew and anthracnose.
Watering is a must and very important part of bonsai maple care. In summer, the intensity and frequency are increased, if necessary, careful sprinkling is used. In winter, when the leaves fall and the plant hibernates, the need for moisture drops sharply.
In the spring with awakening, maple is fed, and the presence of iron in the mixture is important for maple. This is also taken into account when compiling the substrate. Bonsai maple soil should be nutritious, aerated, neutral or slightly acidic. In addition to traditional components, a clay bonsai substrate is added to the soil, which provides anchoring of the root system and structuring the earth mixture.
Transplanting and replacing the container when growing maple bonsai coincides with root pruning, which is carried out at intervals of 2-3 years. In parallel with the formation, dead or damaged rhizomes, lumps of adhered soil are removed.
Maple propagation for bonsai
All species of this plant are easily propagated by cuttings and rooted cuttings. For growing from maple bonsai, seeds are also suitable, which should be stratified before sowing.
To do this, the seed is dropped into wet sphagnum, sand or peat, after which the container with seeds is sent to the refrigerator. For preparing palm maple seeds, for example, 3-4 months are enough in the vegetable compartment. The field of this, when warmed, the shell will surely open, and friendly seedlings will appear to the light.
The hatched maple seeds for bonsai are transferred into a sand-peat mixture or planted in well-moistened peat tablets. In a greenhouse in the light, but not in direct sunlight, the plants give a pair of true leaves after a month.
When their number reaches 4-5, it's time to transfer young maples to their own pots and start forming bonsai.
Maple bonsai crown shaping techniques
How to grow maple bonsai without pruning and pinching the crown? It's impossible. These techniques, along with wire shaping, are an integral part of ancient art.
Pruning of branches is carried out when up to five pairs of full-fledged leaves are revealed on the shoot. Usually they are shortened by 2-4 leaves, and large leaf plates are plucked out separately, leaving their cuttings.
Over time, the cutting will fade and fall off, and too large leaves will be replaced by small ones, more appropriate for bonsai. In the middle of summer, healthy trees with green foliage undergo defoliation or plucking of growth buds, which will lead to:
- to growth retardation;
- to the gradual formation of shorter shoots;
- to increase the density of the crown.
On red maples for bonsai, this operation is not performed, as it can weaken an already sensitive plant.
All procedures related to pruning are best done not in spring, when sap flow is active, but in summer or autumn. The same applies to artificial aging of maples grown for bonsai.In the second half or at the end of the growing season, the inflicted wounds heal better, and the tree recovers better.