manowar32

hi everyone

i am waiting for the arakawa bonsai to arrive and i d like to ask if anyone has one (mine is 14yo)
i live in a zone 9 climate, south facing balcony, which is not the best for palmatums (lots of wind and full sun, especially in the summer.

I ll do my best to keep it out from full sun and winds (by moving it to the north facing balcony) but do you guys think it will make it through anyway?

philgrayser

Hi manowar, i have a few Palmatums that were placed in a south facing position and they didnt like it at all. They got bad sunburn on the leaves which made them dry out and crisp up. Had to put them in a shaded spot for the rest of the summer. The leafes didnt recover from the burning that year but were ok the next summer as i had them under the shad from the start. cheers Phil G

manowar32

hi phil
i imagine you didnt have a lot of sun, or at least not anything resembling greek weather. what was it about that south facing position that made ur trees burn their leaves?wind maybe?

what if i still leave it on the south facing balcony but in a position where its more shady and less windy?

philgrayser

I recon it was strong sunlight at midday and wind that burnt my leaves as the trees was in full sunlight. I still have the trees facing south but they are under my shelves that my other trees are on are now shaded from the midday sun. No more burning!! cheers Phil G

Mike423

I would say you just about hit it on the head. Maples like partial shade where they are sheltered from the sun on the hottest parts of the day (although there are a few Japanese maples able to withstand stronger sun). Strong wind can also be a problem which can cause the trees to transpire thier moisture and dry out if not watched (I would know since my back yard is in a field).

manowar32

ok so other than its position, can anyone help me as to what its maintenance will include? for fertiliser, i have bio gold pellets and a 'bonsai' fertiliser (10-10-10)
do i have to buy 0-10-10 fertiliser to feed it from march and on, or the ones i have will do the job just fine?
was also thinking of repotting it in spring before the growing period in kiryu 70% and akadama 30%

anyone used similar soil mixes on acers?

Mike423

On my non flowering type deciduous Bonsai like maples I usually use normal mixed ratio granular fertilizer from late spring (fertilization too early in spring will promote the tree to grow long vigorous shoots instead of optimal compact twiggy ones) throughout the year switching to a no nitrogen fertilizer from around late Aug/early Sept to around mid to late November. Since this period of time is when the tree is most active and is in a nutritional accumulation period its good for it to absorb an ample amount of Phosphorous and Potassium to help the tree store ample energy for a healthy hibernation and a vigorous start next year.

I also used red line akamada, but due to its expensive price tend to save it for my more prized specimens. I generally use a mixture of Loam,Turface MVP, Fir or pine bark and coarse river sand or Haydite. Keep in mined this fertilizing regiment and soil mixture works well for my geographical location (Chicago) but may differ for you.

manowar32

cool, thanx mike

basically i ve read that no matter where u live, if u have a non organic soil mix, you have to water lots and lots but this promotes better growth, plus you can feed aggressively, twice the amount than normal, without having to worry for root rot since the non organic soil will not hold any essences bad to the roots.

so i should feed with biogold from late spring to june-july (depending when the heat arrives here) and with 0-10-10 from september till November?

Mike423

You are right, soil comprised of mostly inorganic soil will not hold that much nutrients allowing for more frequent Fertilizing. With that in mind you still shouldn't fertilize too often or with too strong a mixture as you can still burn the roots (especially with inorganic fertilizers). Also keep in mind in Bonsai you want to keep the trees relatively small and compact. That being said you want to fertilize the tree enough to keep it healthy, strong and vigorous, but not so much as to cause the tree to grow wildly and unproportional. Every other week should be a sufficient fertilizing regiment if using liquid, once a month (or as directed) if using slow release solid or granular fertilizer.

I like to mix up inorganic and organic fertilizers from a year to year basis so my tree's gets a more diverse diet (of course making sure to also give them micro and macro nutrients). I would say you would be fine using the biogold until mid/the end of August. You could continue to fertilize normally, using the no nitrogen fertilizer two weeks after the last dose of Biogold, and continue that way until around the end of November.

artyanimal

Of course, everyone's success to an extent, depends on their location.

In a harsher enviornment for maples such as your southern zone 9 exposure, I would frankly alter the conventional set up and use more organic material in the mix (something more like 50% - 50%). This will likely keep the soil/roots wetter longer and help the tree combat the harsh drying winds (even when sheltered) a little better. I would think keeping up the humidity level under said conditions would be a fairly important objective.

Just my two cents.

Cheers,

Arty