Japanese Maple Bonsai
Japanese Maple
Twelve or thirteen years ago another Albuquerque bonsai enthusiast gave me about 50 Japanese Maple seedlings. Over the years, that number has dwindled to about twelve. Knowing what I now know about Japanese Maples in Albuquerque, I probably would have declined the offer. Now that I have all these years invested in them, I’ll continue to work with them. The climate is too dry and hot for these plants, although they can be grown above 8,000 feet if they are protected from winter cold. In the summer, I keep them on the shady side of a fence to protect them from the afternoon sun. Still, by August the leaves are ragged. They do not like being in the ground here because of the high pH of the soil. I’ve tried amending the soil, but the pH climbs back up in a few months. Keeping them in large (9″ - 10″, 23cm), diameter training pots with a soil mix of decomposed granite and pine bark mulch and watering with rain water when I can is the only way they will thrive here. This tree has a trunk thickness of about 1 1/4″ (3cm.) The roots are healthy and spread evenly about the trunk. I have repotted these maples every two to three years, trimming and redirecting the roots each time.
Root Mass after Rinsing away Soil
Here it easy to see the distribution of the roots. The soil mix is easy to remove from the roots by sloshing it in a bucket of water. The bucket of water has a 1/4 teaspoon (1ml) of Superthrive per gallon of rainwater in which I soak the roots for several minutes.
The Bottom of the Tree with the Downward Growing Roots Removed
Root Distribution after Triming
I have trimmed the larger roots heavily, but have left the thinner ones. All the Japanese bonsai masters say, “Prune the roots fearlessly.” First, I wonder what the Japanese word for “fearlessly” is. Two, is that word really being translated correctly? My fearless trimming in Albuquerque has resulted in many bonsai fatalities.
In the Pot
I have a hard time finding pots in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe area. I buy them when I see them. Where possible I choose deeper bots because the of the dry summer heat. This one is too large for the tree, so I will be on the lookout for smaller one. I have spread a thin layer of decomposed granite sieved to 1/8″ (3mm) on the top of the coarser soil mix for appearance. The other problem I have is getting moss to grow on the soil. There is a moss that thrives on the boulders in my neighborhood during winter, but I can’t get that to flourish during the summer.
