How To Properly care for a Japanese Maple Bonsai in the winter?

[Fosphor]

Hello this is my first post and my first Bonsai. I was gifted this "Kryptonite Japanese Maple" as a secret Santa gift. I have always wanted a Bonsai but never learned how to care for them so I never bought one.
I have bought 2 books on bonsai care and I have been watching videos and reading helpful articles ever since I received this beauty. However I keep getting different answers between articles so any real advice would help!
Here is a list about my current care routine and current weather.

• I live in Northern Indiana and it's currently winter, the lowest is 25°F this week.
• It has been raining
• I read to keep the Maple outside to go through its winter phase.
• An article said to protect it from high winds and negative temps. (Some say they can go to -15°F and another says 25°.)
• Another source said to move the Bonsai into a garage or shed during winter.
• To contradict that, another article said they need at least 4 hours of sunlight in the winter.
• Now I put the Bonsai in the shed at night and leave it out during the day.
• I cut off the end of the Bonsai that had a lot of dead leaves (Person who gifted it told me too

Any tips to better care for this Japanese Maple would be amazing! I really want this Bonsai to survive.

 

[Lorax7]

I’m further north than you and have several Japanese maples. I keep them outdoors with the pots sitting on the ground and mulch spread around and on the surface of the pots. They are kept together along the north side of a building so they are kept in partial shade. That’s it, really, for winter care.

 

[leatherback]

Yup, agree with @Lorax7 . Outside. Protect from wind and sun, especially once frozen.

The pictures do make me wonder whether this tree is still alive; It seems very dull. Can you share a few clear pictures of the bark?

 

[snox7]

I can't help with wintering as in the UK but keep an eye on the wire as you don't want it biting into the branches .

 

[Dav4]

Deciduous trees will lose their leaves (abscission) with few exceptions in the fall. The fact that this tree is holding onto dried up leaves makes me very concerned about its viability. I see this most often if a tree dies out or the sap flow is interrupted... a possibility given the bends with the wiring. If those leaves don't pull off with a gentle tug to reveal a bud beneath the petiole, that portion of the tree is likely dead.

 

[hemmy]

I’m further north than you and have several Japanese maples. I keep them outdoors with the pots sitting on the ground and mulch spread around and on the surface of the pots. They are kept together along the north side of a building so they are kept in partial shade. That’s it, really, for winter care.

I’m further south zone 6, our rabbits are still out and about. They will eat anything on the ground not fenced our protected somehow. Rats and mice can also be pests.

 

[Paradox]

I’m further south zone 6, our rabbits are still out and about. They will eat anything on the ground not fenced our protected somehow. Rats and mice can also be pests.

Get some wire cloth fencing with mesh small enough to keep the mice out and put that around your trees.
Its a cheap way to keep the rodents and others away from your trees.

@Fosphor The advice others gave you above is good. You will need to protect maples from freezing wind as well.
You can keep the tree along the side of your house, mulched in. No need to keep moving it around.
You can also keep it in your shed but you will need to water it at least once a week. If you forget and it dries out, it will die.
Honestly the mulching along the side of the house is easiest as it get moisture from winter rains and snow. No need to really worry about it.

I keep my deciduous trees in a cold frame I built along the side of my house. I keep the top open unless its going to get well below freezing.
The walls of the cold frame and the other trees packed together protect from freezing wind.

 

[Fosphor]

Yup, agree with @Lorax7 . Outside. Protect from wind and sun, especially once frozen.

The pictures do make me wonder whether this tree is still alive; It seems very dull. Can you share a few clear pictures of the bark?

My camera is having a hard time focusing but here are more pictures before I head to work. It looks like there are some buds growing on it.

 

[Paradox]

My only recommendation with the tree after seeing the pictures is try to bend some movement into the trunk lower (ie closer to the pot).
Its very straight for the first 10-12 inches there. Most of the stuff above you will probably cut off once you get the trunk to the size you want.

 

[Fosphor]

Could I avoid cutting the top off? I love the look of this tree. I love the almost eerie but calming experience this tree gives me from the twists.

 

[Paradox]

Could I avoid cutting the top off? I love the look of this tree. I love the almost eerie but calming experience this tree gives me from the twists.

If you want to have a very large bonsai you can leave it but I think that you'll find in the future as you gain more knowledge and experience, it wont be a good bonsai.
It will be more comparable to a topiary, but it is your tree and if you like it, that is all that matters.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

My only recommendation with the tree after seeing the pictures is try to bend some movement into the trunk lower (ie closer to the pot).
Its very straight for the first 10-12 inches there. Most of the stuff above you will probably cut off once you get the trunk to the size you want.

Concur on the above. Also it would be wise to continue to study and practice wiring technique. We all need to hone our skills.

One saying that may help while practicing is : Use same angle, same spacing, not gaps, wires side by side; and avoid crossing over except in a rare occasion. When bending bend/twist in the direction the wire was applied.

A couple small additions to the wintering over advice above.

1. Once a tree is moved into a bonsai pot it loses some cold hardiness.
The common wisdom is one USDA Cold Hardiness zone less then in the ground. Our tests show this is a good rule of thumb, but will vary on the tree, the amount of recent work done on the tree, the depth of the pot, placement and other variables. Thus burying the pot in the ground and or mulched in will give added protection to-the roots… yet not the superstructure.

2. If a tree is wired and bent just before or during the winter the tree will need extra protection. Protection beyond that mentioned above.
This is due to the cellular damage to the channels that shuttle water and nutrients up and/or down the tree. If recently done, the tree will go into the winter in a weakened state, with these channels still damaged. Thus the intra and extra cellular means a tree uses to protect itself from freezing is compromised.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Given the questionable state of the tree and lack of experience, I would wait to add any bends until danger of frost has passed.

I would try to cover the roots a bit with some additional bonsai soil or, at least, mulch or sphagnum. The tree looks planted too high.

I agree with keeping out wind and mulching (heeling) the pot. Typicall a plant in a pot experiences a 2 zone drop in hardiness. I would be watchful for extreme temperatures below 20deg for prolonged periods of times. I wpuld put in shed for those durations.