Hi fellow bonsai people. I am new to bonsai, I have approx 15 years old trident maple tree that I got a month ago. I love my tree and look after it as much as I can. The tip of the leaves were slightly brown, I defoliated the damaged leaves and now out if the new foliage about 20% leaves have got brown/burned tips. Tree is not kept in afternoon sun above 25 degree centigrade. Watered every day and soil is kept moist to wet and never dry. Liquid fertiliser once a week as we are in start of summer here in Melbourne, Australia. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Trident Maple leaves tips turning brown
- Thread starter m4ple
- Start date
leatherback
The Treedeemer
Shibui
Imperial Masterpiece
Thanks for the referral @leatherback
Not sure whether the question is naïve but I also need to know where the tree lives. So many newbies assume bonsai must be indoors but the trees we use can't survive indoors.
Personally not worried by 20% brown tips on maples. There may be some problem but not enough to unduly worry a trident.
Not sure whether the question is naïve but I also need to know where the tree lives. So many newbies assume bonsai must be indoors but the trees we use can't survive indoors.
Personally not worried by 20% brown tips on maples. There may be some problem but not enough to unduly worry a trident.
Hi @Shibui, thanks for your reply. I have read most of your posts on the forums and gained a lot of knowledge about maples. I am based in North Melbourne. The tree lives outdoors in my backyard. I just brought it inside to take pictures, wasn’t inside for more than 15 minutes. I have checked the soil yesterday and the tree is not root bound, I just can’t figure out the right time to water it. I have got a moisture meter. Should I let the soil dry slightly before watering it again or just keep it moist constantly? Also I’m using liquid fertiliser for bonsai weekly, should I keep doing it? Thanks in advance.
Thanks for your response and referral to @Shibui. I read a lot about bonsai care etc before getting 5 trees for myself, so to your question the tree is always kept outdoors in partial sunlight. It had brown tips when I got it. The bonsai store was keeping it indoors for display, maybe that’s why.
Shibui
Imperial Masterpiece
Good to hear you are aware that bonsai grow outdoors. You would be surprised to see how many newbies think the opposite so that's where we usually start when diagnosing problems.
I am more inclined to water maples than to let them dry out. It's a fine line between almost dry and too dry so mine do better with more water than less.
I think you could ease up on the fertiliser. Maybe every 2 weeks instead of weekly, at least until the tree has more leaves so it can use more nutrients.
The foliage looks quite sparse for a trident. I'm trying to work out what's affecting that but it could be a few factors alone or combined. You mention partial sunlight but your idea of partial might be quite different to other people. Can you estimate how many hours of direct sun the tree gets please? How shady is the shade when the tree is not in sun? No sun at all or filtered through tree canopy or shade cloth?
I am more inclined to water maples than to let them dry out. It's a fine line between almost dry and too dry so mine do better with more water than less.
I think you could ease up on the fertiliser. Maybe every 2 weeks instead of weekly, at least until the tree has more leaves so it can use more nutrients.
The foliage looks quite sparse for a trident. I'm trying to work out what's affecting that but it could be a few factors alone or combined. You mention partial sunlight but your idea of partial might be quite different to other people. Can you estimate how many hours of direct sun the tree gets please? How shady is the shade when the tree is not in sun? No sun at all or filtered through tree canopy or shade cloth?
Thanks Shubui, Copy on the fertiliser and watering. The tree gets sunlight from 0830am to about 0130pm after that it gets 100% shaded where it’s placed. It had zero new growth when I got it from the bonsai nursery and was sitting inside on a display shelf. I think it wasn’t been properly taken care of in terms of sunlight requirements. After partial defoliation it has a lot of new growth but you are right the foliage is quite sparse.
WNC Bonsai
Masterpiece
You also might want to include some info on your soil as that greatly affects watering frequency and needs. I water my tridents and other bonsai daily but use a very well draining soil. Also you say you fertilize weekly, is that with a chemical or organic fertilizer?
