AusBonsai

]Hi people

questions about my Japanese Maple (any one with good visual knowledge please confirm if its not a standard Japanese Maple .. see pics)

I'm not sure but I think the leaves have gotten a bit Sun Burnt... (maybe wind burn?.. is that possible??)
if not can anyone tell me what's going on..???

so i guess its a 2 fold question...
A) if it is Sun Burnt can i , should i defoliate it to get new growth and revive its vigour
B) when is the ideal time to defoliate a Japanese Maple in Melbourne and is it OK to do it now? ?

any other helping words of wisdom would be great..!!

cheers
BB

Pretty normal wear and tear for an unprotected tree this time of year.
Yes you can defoliate the entire tree now but don't forget to pinch out the new centre buds as soon as you can grab them.

Brewster wrote: can anyone tell me what's going on..???

Yes, Melb is cooler than PER so your Acer P. looks better than all of mine.

This happens every year, first hot day. The poor old Acer P. grows foliage faster than it can pump water on a 40C day

Also ,don't water foliage that's about to be in the sun

treeman wrote:Pretty normal wear and tear for an unprotected tree this time of year.
Yes you can defoliate the entire tree now but don't forget to pinch out the new centre buds as soon as you can grab them.

pinch out the new centre buds as soon as you can grab them.??
can you explain.. please??

thoglette wrote:

Brewster wrote: can anyone tell me what's going on..???

Yes, Melb is cooler than PER so your Acer P. looks better than all of mine.

This happens every year, first hot day. The poor old Acer P. grows foliage faster than it can pump water on a 40C day

Also ,don't water foliage that's about to be in the sun

arrhh thanks for the tip...
so having wet bark and leafs will cook it??

Brewster wrote:

treeman wrote:Pretty normal wear and tear for an unprotected tree this time of year.
Yes you can defoliate the entire tree now but don't forget to pinch out the new centre buds as soon as you can grab them.

pinch out the new centre buds as soon as you can grab them.??
can you explain.. please??

When the new shoots on the tips of the foliage just open , pinch them out to force ramification and shorter internodes

Ken

Greetings from BrisVagas, hot here today. Your leaves look like the hot weather has got to them. Your photos show you are not managing the soil or the roots properly. The trunk is straight down with no taper, admittedly can be difficult with a maple, but you should have exposed the surface roots and got rid of all the weeds. If you have the roots sorted, when it comes to a style for a pot, it will be much easier to choose. Don't start cutting off the low ratty small branches, open up the top of the tree and let the light onto the lower branches so they thicken. Thick low branches makes any tree look mature. It's the work on the base of the tree that you do now that will make a good tree in years to come. Happy bonsai Bruce.

kcpoole wrote:

Brewster wrote:

treeman wrote:Pretty normal wear and tear for an unprotected tree this time of year.
Yes you can defoliate the entire tree now but don't forget to pinch out the new centre buds as soon as you can grab them.

pinch out the new centre buds as soon as you can grab them.??
can you explain.. please??

When the new shoots on the tips of the foliage just open , pinch them out to force ramification and shorter internodes

Ken

thanks Ken