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Japanese Maple Bonsai
Japanese maple growing in the wild can grow up to great heights, but when properly trained and pruned it can be a perfect bonsai. There are over 1000 cultivated varieties of Japanese maple, which are differentiated by there size, leaf shape and color and fall coloration, and almost all of them can be cultivated as bonsai. The most admirable feature about the Japanese Maple is that they have different colours in different seasons. Watering of maple bonsai has to be done very carefully. The plant should be watered with a hose or a watering can or jug. You should pour water on the bonsai from top and water it sufficiently so that the water drains out of the drainage wholes in the bonsai pot. It is very important to decide on the watering intervals. After watering the plant wait for the time till the soil has a bit of moisture left. Now here is the part you have to be little careful about. You have to periodically check the moisture content of the soil and decide upon the exact time to re water the Japanese Maple Bonsai. Do not wait for the soil to be completely dry, as it might create a drought kind of condition for the Maple tree and would eventually lead to its death. Japanese Maple is a non hardy species and is very vulnerable to cold winters and sudden climatic changes. Hence you must be very careful in helping the plant adapt to changing climatic conditions by ensuring that it gets adequate sunlight and warmth during very cold winter days. A controlled environment like a green house or a growth cabinet would go a long way in ensuring your plants good health. During the summers see to it that the plant is not placed directly in the Sun light. Keep it in a shade. Keep the plant properly hydrated. Provide just enough water to keep the soil moisture content at an optimum level. Too much of watering would cause the roots to rot and too little of it would result in a drought situation. During winter season try and protect your Japanese Maple Bonsai from the chilling winds to prevent the leaves from shrivling. Repotting of your maple bonsai should be usually carried out during the late winter or early spring just at the time the plant is out of its dormancy period. You should pay proper attention to the repotting exercise so that you do not damage the roots of the bonsai plant. You should not use strong insecticides or fertilizers to accelerate the growth of your bonsai; instead you should allow it to take its own natural growth cycle. You should prune the leaves of your Japanese Maple Bonsai during the late spring season and it is also during this season that you should remove the most grown parts of the previous period.
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