Hay all, I have had this Japanese maple for a long time and it’s not really doing anything, it throws out these little shoots, then dose nothing and dies right back, I contemplating doing a trunk cut and turning it into a Bonsai, I think my soil is wrong in the pot it is in, what would be the best way to go about this as I have no idea, also I have a potted olive tree that has been in a tub pot for about 20 years and hasn’t got very big so part way to bonsai already I think
What does the canopy look like?
Pretty much like the rest of it, no canopy to speak off will post pictures of it tomorrow.
I would repot into a good aggregate bonsai soil now. Ryan recommends pure akadama for maples, but I would suggest a mix of pumice and akadama to start or even pure pumice. I think your issues are due to poor roots and you need to get healthy roots so the top will grow.
Once you get some good growth, you can decide where to take the tree. I like the using the lower shoots to build a bonsai rather than a maple in a pot with a high canopy.
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Here is a full trunk picture of the elm including canopy, any advice is great…
I will already be moving it to better soil as soon as I can.
I agree with Marty. Getting your tree healthy is the only priority. The fact that you’ve had it for a long time (in the same soil?), that the new shoots die and it can’t regain energy by having a leaf mass, point to poor roots. I would repot asap since it’s about to break out into leafs. Any bonsai substrate would probably be a big improvement. Make sure you secure the tree/roots well. And then hopefully signs of recovering health in the coming months! Good luck and keep us updated.
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I second @Maina words here. I’ve been gifted Japanese maple by a neighbor with the same issue and when I asked how long it’s been in the pot in the same soil she couldn’t recall just said ‘since ever’ I repotted the thing to mix of lava, akadama, pumice, bit of bark and it was having perfectly healthy growth after.
Make sure you keep your hands off the tree the whole year and only fertilize once first flush nicely healthy and hardened off .
Good luck
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Hi everyone, thank you for all the advice, I’m now prepared with akedama pot and everything else I will need for my maple to recover I hope. I’ll post a picture once it’s potted
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Ok guys here’s how it’s going so far…
So it was as feared, the soil it was in was completely compacted and waterlogged to the point it was mud rather then soil.
I got the root ball sorted and trimmed away soft, rotting roots, freed up the roots a bit then transferred it to its new ceramic pot, and full akedama soil leaving a little of the original soil in the main, fully secured in the pot and have started to work in the akedama. Then just need to flush it to get the akedama powder through. And cross my fingers and hope that it recovers.
Well done! I think your tree is going to respond well. If it regains vigour this year you can repot next year and work on the roots. For now it only needs rest, water and sun.
Btw, what kind of akadama is it? I don’t recognize it as such, but that could be me.
