Japanese red maple bonsai care

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Acer palmatum ‘deshojo‘ or (Acer palmatum ‘chishio’ or ‘shisio’) is a deciduous tree which produces bright carmine-red leaves in early spring. Because of its beautiful foliage color, this is one of the most popular cultivators of Acer palmatum for a bonsai red maple tree.

At the start of summer, the five-lobed leaves turn rich red, turning red/green in the late summer, and then turning deep red in the fall.

In spring, red maple leaves emerge bright scarlet and return to their original color in fall. The leaves arise from short red shoots of pale gray twigs

If the bonsai is kept under very good light conditions for as long as possible, it will retain its red leaf color for a longer period of time.

Note : Red maples such as these two (deshojo‘ or ‘chishio‘) are true red maples, while Red atropurpureum has large leaves that are dull and burgundy, and coarse growth, making it unsuitable for bonsai red maple cultivation.

Some of the popular Japanese red maple cultivators are listed below:

• Beni-chidori – A cultivar similar to ‘Deshojo‘, but with smaller foliage and dense branching. Its new leaves emerge as soft red in the early spring, before turning pink and then becoming midgreen in the summer. The leaves turn red in the autumn. Foliage sizes are small and the tree has a twiggy habit making it one of the most desirable red maple bonsai tree.
• Seigai – Seigai (also known as ‘seigen‘) red maple is one of the more popular cultivars, but not suitable for beginners. The temperate climates of Europe and North America are thought to be difficult to grow this red maple variety. Frost and cold winds will scorch new leaves in spring, so protect plants in a greenhouse without heat during winter and early spring. The foliage of the plant has long, elegant lobes and is bright pink in spring. Their color gradually changes from reddish brown to dark green, with mottled vein patterns, as the year progresses.
• Shisio – ‘Shisio‘ (syn. ‘Chisio’) retains its red color for a bit longer than ‘Deshojo‘. During the summer, Shisio red maple trees hold their color a little longer before turning green. When autumn comes, Shisio turn red again.

Best location keep Japanese red maple Bonsai

Treat these red Japanese maple cultivators in the same way as any other Acer palmatum cultivator.

Deshojo red maples bonsai will thrive in full sun in summer and spring. They can even be left outside in winter, provided the temperature does not drop below 23°F (-5°C). (Seigai red maple bonsai tree is an exception to this)

The temperature range in which these trees can do well is 30-90°F (-1 to 32°C). However, if Deshojo red maple is subjected to temperatures above 86°F(30°C) for a prolonged period of time then the tree will stop growing.

Full sun is best for Japanese red maples bonsai, but the roots should not be allowed to dry out; otherwise, the margins of the leaves will burn.

Sunlight hardens the leaves and twigs of the plants. A better, clearer red in spring is produced by allowing the leaves to grow in the open.

When they are in leaf, you can display them indoors for a few days or you can display them indoors for a few hours during the winter.

When Deshojo bonsai is kept in a greenhouse or in indoors in spring, its leaves tend to be dimmer in color.

Propagation Japanese red maple

red Japanese maple seeds can be sown in winter.

Summer is the best time to take softwood cuttings.

In the spring or the summer, layer or air layer Japanese red maple.

Watering Japanese red maple Bonsai

Water the roots regularly throughout the growing season and never allow the soil around the roots to dry out.

Water once a day in spring and fall; twice a day in summer.

In winter, water sparingly. Make sure that the soil is always moist, avoiding both waterlogging and dryness.

Mist the foliage regularly.

Avoid using tap water and use rainwater instead if you can.

One trick you can use is, each time you water, wait until the top of the compost is slightly dry.

Whenever you water these plants, make sure the water flows through the drainage holes in the bottom of the bonsai pot.

Protect the Deshojo tree from winter rains.

Wiring Japanese red maple Bonsai

You should wire the branches when they are bare in the fall, before new growth begins in spring. Partially defoliated branches can also be wired.

Use aluminum wire as the branches are fragile. Wrap the wire with a wet cloth to avoid scarring the branches.

Wires should not be left on for longer than six months and should be removed as soon as the bark begins to bite into them.

If you want to protect maple stems from unsightly wire marks, wrap them in raffia.

Avoiding marking can be achieved by shaping with guy wires as well as by pinching and pruning.

Best time of wiring is also after fresh leaf cutting.

Pruning Japanese red maple Bonsai

When to prune Japanese red maple bonsai?

Pruning should be done twice a year, in early and midsummer.

By cutting all leaves in midsummer, small leaves growth is encouraged.

Pruning can also be performed in spring, two weeks before or after repotting. The new growth should be trimmed to 1-2 pairs of leaves in spring.

Late winter is the time to thin older twigs and major branches.

During the growing season, remove large leaves and trim for shape.

Eliminate branches and twigs that are overcrowded.

Get rid of old knots and spurs by pruning down to a shoot or bud.

Pinching Japanese red maple Bonsai

When you see two or four complete leaves on all new shoots, pinch them off. Throughout the growing season, repeat as needed.

To build up vigor for a final trim in early fall, leave the late-summer growth unchecked.

Repotting Japanese red maple Bonsai

When to repot Japanese red maple bonsai?

Red Japanese maple cultivars should be repotted in early spring or late winter every two or three years, when the buds are elongating and shining.

Or you can also practice repotting smaller red maple bonsai trees every year and larger red maple bonsai trees every 3 years or so.

You can also repot when the see the red maple bonsai tree potbound to the bonsai pot.

Keeping plants slightly potbound will result in smaller leaves.

After repotting, ensure the plant is frost-free.

Apply Akadama or standard soil mix (free draining). For areas with hard water, use some sphagnum moss. OR, you can use 50:50 ratio of akadama and perlite or lava OR you can also use basic bonsai potting soil.

In case the red Japanese maple bonsai is not potbound, you can postpone the repotting.

Remove circling and damaged roots and prune the roots up to the woody roots. Try and create a strong nebari. These woody roots are needed for stabilizing the plant. Keep as many fibrous roots as possible.  

When you repot, don’t remove more than one-third of the roots. It takes the plant quite a while to develop a strong fibrous root ball.

Feeding Japanese red maple Bonsai

A too high nitrogen content will result in green leaves.

Start with a high-nitrogen feed in the spring, then switch to a low-nitrogen feed in the summer.

OR

Feed a balanced fertilizer from bud-break until late summer, then zero or low-nitrogen feed thereafter.

OR

Weak balanced feed should be applied in spring and summer. Thereafter, nitrogen-free feed should be applied in late summer and fall.

You should not feed your tree during the winter when it is dormant.

A soil acidifier should be applied twice a year in hardwater areas.

Diseases and pest of Japanese red maple Bonsai

Scale insects and aphids often attack these red maple bonsai trees. When pests are too many to be removed manually, apply a systemic insecticide.

Aphids can be little tricky due to their tendency to adopt the same color as the shoots they feed on, they are difficult to spot. You can spot red aphids by looking for distorted young shoots. Apply a monthly spray against aphids.

When air circulation is poor, powdery mildew may develop.

Japanese red maple bonsai care

They are very susceptible to wind and sun scorch, so must be protected from both.

It is important to slowly acclimatize trees that have come into leaf while under plastic or glass before they are permanently planted outdoors. This will prevent leaf scorch.

To compensate for the low light levels, too much shade may cause the leaves to lose most of their red color, as the plant will try to increase the chlorophyll levels.

If you want to avoid this, place your bonsai red maple where a tall tree or building shades it from direct sunlight, however, it still receives sky-light from above.

In midsummer, you can cut through the leaves stalks (petioles) to remove all the foliage if your red maple loses its color. Fresh leaves will appear within a week or two. New leaves will have a reddish tint, will be borne on shorter shoots, and will be smaller. However, this trick should only be applied to healthy red maple bonsai trees and preferably in alternate years.

Providing good light conditions will make the new leaves color even deeper and retain the color till fall.

There is a possibility for wind, sun, drought, insects, and other environmental factors to damage the delicate leaves. Too much dry soil can exacerbate these problems, and some shoots may die.

What to look for when buying Japanese red maple Bonsai

Deshojo red maple bonsai trees are slow growing (even more so in bonsai pots). Hence it is a wise idea to invest a little bit more money on a bonsai red maple which is relatively more developed.

For single-trunked trees, avoid red maple trees with ugly pruning wounds. Also try and avoid bonsai red maple specimens with group of branches growing from the same spot.

Only opt for such trees if you are absolutely sure that you can hide the wound marks by carving.

Note: As mentioned earlier, these trees are slow growing which also means that they will be slow in healing of wounds.

Considering that red maples grow slowly, commercial growers prefer to cultivate two- and three-trunked styles more often than they do other species so they can achieve recognizable tree shapes in a relatively short time.

Select a tree whose trunks are of different thicknesses when choosing multi-trunked styles. The thickest trunk should be the tallest, while the thinnest trunk should be the shortest. In order to enhance the perspective, the thinnest trunk should be positioned at the back.

The main trunk and the other trunks should join at the very bottom, not part-way up,