Bonsai Tree Care

The Norway Maple (Acer Platanoides) takes you by surprise with its beauty. They are very beautiful as Bonsai trees, but they are very difficult to shape, as is every tree with big leaves. This should be kept in mind when choosing the height of a Bonsai maple tree, generally speaking. You should make at least 24-25inches/80cm height Bonsai trees. The maple trees are robust and not particularly difficult to grow. You can use any type of soil and, in the autumn, they will have a beautiful bright yellow to orange color. This is the reason you will find many Bonsai maple trees planters.

Soil:
Norway Maple tree does not need any special soil. It has to be hard and argillaceous, but it should be permeable, either, because the roots need to receive enough oxygen. Ideal soil should be some Akadama soil (big granules) mixed with some humus. For the drainage, use Akadama soil with a granulation of 3-5inches/10-14cm. The pots should not be lower than 2inches/5cm. You should water it a lot with water from a fountain, faucet or rain.

Nutrition/Sustenance:
You can use any type of Bonsai fertilizer. It doesn’t matter if it is liquid, dust or balls, you can use either of them. The nutrition should be performed starting from May until September: 1 teaspoonful of dust fertilizer all over the soil surface, from 3inches/10cm to 3inches/10cm. Just before the winter starts, you should remove all the fertilizer.

Winter:
The Norway Maple Bonsai trees are very strong and they do not have any problem whatsoever if you follow the following rules: the Bonsai tree is taken out of the pot and buried outside, in a shadowed spot, preferably under a tree or a bush. You can put some foliage and some small fir branches around the tree.

Wiring:
The tree should be tied starting with November until April. The wire should remain on the tree until the beginning of the summer. The wire might embed in the younger branches and, therefore, should be removed. Several months later, you can tie it up again. The wire should not embed in the stem or the fork no matter what.

Cutting the branches:
The Norway Maple should be cut during the rest period of the plant (from January to March). Smaller branches may be cut all throughout the year. If the scars are bigger than 1inch/3cm in diameter, they should be covered with wax or balm so they do not rot.

Shaping:
The shaping cuts should be performed during the winter, when the plant doesn’t have any leaves and it is easier to shape. During the spring and summer, when the plant grows some more, you should adjust the shape some more.

Cutting the leaves:
In order to have a beautiful Norway Maple Bonsai tree, you really have to cut the leaves. This is to be done yearly, from the middle of June till the end of the month. You should cut all the leaves and let the tails. Several weeks after that, new leaves will appear, half the size of the old ones.

Placement:
In the summer, the trees need a sunny position, so that the leaves do not grow oversized. If the plant receives sun from one side only, it should be turned with all sides to the sun, from time to time, so that it does not grow asymmetrically. A higher position (16-40inches/50-120cm) should allow the tree to receive some more sun light.

Transferring:
Once at 2 or 4 years, the Norway Maple Bonsai trees should be transferred to pots with higher than 2inches/5cm. The transfer period is from February till the end of April.

Style:
You can’t achieve too many shapes with a maple tree. It is recommended that you try the straight shape, the broom shape or an oblique shape. The maple trees grow high: they should not be smaller than 20inches/60cm. Their ideal height is around 23-45inches/80-140cm.

As usual, please, if you have beautiful trees, we would be very happy to receive your pictures.

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