When To Prune Japanese Maple Bonsai
Prune your japanese maples the same time of the last freeze date expected for your zone.
When to prune japanese maple bonsai. Japanese maple pruning 1 month 4 days ago 58844. Defoliate after the new spring growth has hardened off. For the most part pruning japanese maples is confined to removing dead wood and fine stems which obstruct the handsome skeleton of the tree. If you are going to be pruning stronger more sound branches you should do this in the fall.
A bonsai should be roughly triangular shaped. Remove all the leaves leaving the leaf stems intact. You should trim back twigs and shoots. This article discusses how to do basic pruning to keep a maple looking good.
The exact moment depends on the tree. Assessing your tree s shape. This is its natural dormant period and less injury is caused by japanese maple trimming during this time. But this is what i would do.
Continue reading about pruning bonsai trees. Late winter or early spring is when to prune a japanese maple. When the air layering has good roots cut it of and start to form a new leader from the upward growing branch. Unlike many other bonsai specimens it can be pruned year round.
Pruning is recommended during warm months but not during early spring when they are on the verge of a new spring growth. If you prune the branches before the buds are differentiated which generally happens around the end of june the reduction of the leaf surface area obliges the plant to increase the number of leaf buds and abandon flower buds in order to re establish a balance in the existing foliage. Look for an upward growing branch on the lower half of the trunk and put an airlayering just abowe it. Leaf pruning the removal of leaves during the growing season can be done every other year in early summer to encourage smaller leaves.
If you haven t pruned it lately it may look like this bushy and green having lost it s shape. You should prune your japanese red maple bonsai on a regular basis several times per year. The best time to prune bonsai japanese maples is winter its dormant season. This is what i would do.
Unless you need to cut back dead or dying branches limit your pruning to once a season. Prune bonsai japanese maples year round but sparingly. This one clearly isn t and needs to be pruned. Partial leaf pruning is more gentle.
For most bonsai tree species june is the best month to defoliate leaving enough time to grow new leaves and prepare for the winter season.