Japanese Maple Health Check

Forum for discussion of Deciduous bonsai – Maples, Crabapple, Hornbeam, Elm species etc.
Post Reply
thomasc96
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 9
Joined: March 24th, 2019, 9:00 pm
Bonsai Age: 1
Location: Sydney

Japanese Maple Health Check

Post by thomasc96 »

Hi,

I recently trimmed back my maple during early March, removing the branches back to 1/2-1/3 of its length, leaving a sacrificial branch in the centre as it seemed healthy enough to work on.

However, over the past month my bonsai seems to have deteriorated.. Would anyone be able to identify any factors with this and provide any feedback to improve on anything i've done? I've inspected the bonsai multiple times checking underneath the leaf looking for caterpillars but I can't seem to find any...

Info about my bonsai
Location: Sydney West
Positioning: Backyard, receives sunlight between 6.00am - 1.00pm. I've momentarily placed it at the front where it was beginning of the year and grew quite healthily
Placement: It was on the floor until 2 weeks ago I got a stand
Watering: I water it every morning when the soil looks dry, however its been raining in Sydney quite a lot over the past few weeks (if not months!) and i've left it out in the rain
Fertilising: I fertilise once a month, however since I've cut back i'm fertilising it once every 2-3 weeks. [Amgrow Seaweed Concentrate]
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
shibui
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 7653
Joined: August 22nd, 2009, 8:41 pm
Favorite Species: trident maple
Bonsai Age: 41
Bonsai Club: Albury/Wodonga; BSV; Canberra; VNBC
Location: Yackandandah
Has thanked: 65 times
Been thanked: 1399 times
Contact:

Re: Japanese Maple Health Check

Post by shibui »

At first it looked like normal end of season for JM but then I spotted the veins showing in some leaves indicates something small has been snacking on your tree. Probably some sort of caterpillar as most other leaf pests eat the entire leaf in chunks.
Sitting on the ground opens trees up to a range of leaf eaters, some which only come out at night when you're not looking and others are well camouflaged.
The leaf problems don't really look like related to being too wet.

The good news is that it is close to end of season now so losing a few leaves is neither unusual or detrimental. It will almost certainly grow new ones in spring.
http://shibuibonsai.com.au/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
BonsaiBobbie
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 217
Joined: January 17th, 2022, 12:52 pm
Favorite Species: No Luck Leptospermum, Could be Kunzea
Bonsai Age: 3
Bonsai Club: Sydney City Bonsai Club
Location: Sydney City
Has thanked: 108 times
Been thanked: 51 times

Re: Japanese Maple Health Check

Post by BonsaiBobbie »

thomasc96 wrote: April 15th, 2022, 11:19 am Hi,

I recently trimmed back my maple during early March, removing the branches back to 1/2-1/3 of its length, leaving a sacrificial branch in the centre as it seemed healthy enough to work on.

However, over the past month my bonsai seems to have deteriorated.. Would anyone be able to identify any factors with this and provide any feedback to improve on anything i've done? I've inspected the bonsai multiple times checking underneath the leaf looking for caterpillars but I can't seem to find any...

Info about my bonsai
Location: Sydney West
Positioning: Backyard, receives sunlight between 6.00am - 1.00pm. I've momentarily placed it at the front where it was beginning of the year and grew quite healthily
Placement: It was on the floor until 2 weeks ago I got a stand
Watering: I water it every morning when the soil looks dry, however its been raining in Sydney quite a lot over the past few weeks (if not months!) and i've left it out in the rain
Fertilising: I fertilise once a month, however since I've cut back i'm fertilising it once every 2-3 weeks. [Amgrow Seaweed Concentrate]
More light?

I'm also in Sydney, but closer to the coast (slightly warmer overnight?), and have been using the same fertiliser but weekly at half strength, and my maples get light at the opposite end of the day.

Interestingly, I'm still getting vigorous growth especially after pruning, and I even re-potted one (two actually) after completing an airlayer a few weeks ago.
--
No idea what I am doing…
Post Reply

Return to “Deciduous”