Tag Archives: Maple

An Introduction to Bonsai Maple Trees

Bonsai trees have long been a favorite hobby of many due to their interesting shapes and decorative appeal. Bonsai trees can be grown indoors to decorate a living room, den or office or left in the garden for an exotic look. This is a unique hobby that lets one combine their love for growing plants with their creative skill in shaping the bonsai.

The maple is one of the most popular trees used for bonsai. Of the maple family, two are particularly popular: The Trident Maple and the Japanese Maple. This article will provide you with a brief introduction to these two bonsai maple trees.

The Trident Maple (Acer buergerianum) is an oriental deciduous tree. It is very tolerant to pollution, which is why it can be grown in cities and towns. The trident maple is quite hardy as far as bonsai trees go, but it will still need special care, particularly with regards to protecting it from frost. The trident maple’s roots have high moisture content; and during winter this can become a disadvantage. In order to protect this maple from frost, you can try keeping it in a greenhouse or covering it with straw during winter. The trident maple should be placed in a sunny spot that has shade in the afternoons.

The Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) is also known as the Japanese Mountain Maple. There are many varieties of Japanese maple to choose from; it is a very popular bonsai maple tree. Just to give you an idea, there is the Nishiki Issai, Ara Kawa, Nishiki Sho, Nishiki Gawa – these are varieties with rough barks that age quickly. There are also varieties with unusual barks – this includes the Sanku and the Aoyji. The Kiyo-hime Tama-hime are examples of the dwarf varieties. These grow more like bushes rather than trees.

The Japanese maple has a diverse variety of hybrids, by some counts more than three hundred. The leaves of Japanese maples range from light green to deep burgundy. Like the trident maple, Japanese maples are quite durable trees. Air pollutants and insects are usually not a problem for them. The Japanese maple grows best in moist, fertile soil, and do not perform as well in places when exposed to too much sun.

Caring for your bonsai tree is not that difficult. It needs the appropriate amount of sun and water. The maples prefer a bit of shade with not excessive direct sunlight. If you have yours in a pot, you can place it where you want but be sure to move it out of the direct sun during the hottest part of the day. You should not let your bonsai dry out but also, do not drown it in too much water. Careful pruning and shaping of the bonsai will give you a lovely tree that will last for years.

Bonsai maple trees are quite beautiful and are ideal for bonsai beginners. Their innate durability makes them easy to take care of. And let’s not forget that they are also some of the most incredible-looking bonsai around!

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The Weeping Japanese Maple Tree “Red Dragon”

The ‘Red Dragon’ weeping Japanese maple tree is best known for its outstanding ability to keep its flaming red colors the full growing season in both sun or shade, unlike other lace leaf cultivars that often turn bronzy-green in open summer sun. The ‘Red Dragon’s’ leaves emerge a sizzling scarlet color in the spring and grow to become darker and more burgundy as they mature, until they reach a blazing scarlet color at the closing stages of the growing season. A somehwhat new introduction from New Zealand, the ‘Red Dragon’ is quickly becoming the new standard for judging red dissectums.

In its first five years the ‘Red Dragon’ Japanese maple grows 4 to 5 feet tall and to a upper limit height of 8 feet. One of the quicker growing Japanese maple trees s the ‘Red Dragon’. On reaching maturity, the ‘Red Dragon’ is bush-like being slightly wider than it is tall. Its small size and weeping characteristic make the ‘Red Dragon’ a first-rate tree for a tiny garden, container, or bonsai plant. The ‘Red Dragon’ is a strong grower, but still more compact than the ‘Crimson Queen,’ a more familiar dwarf Japanese maple tree.

The ‘Red Dragon’ grows in USDA zones six through eight and must be protected from both extreme wind and cold and direct afternoon sun in hotter climates to avoid leaf burn. Even so, the ‘Red Dragon’ is more sun-tolerant than most Japanese maple trees. The ‘Red Dragon’ can tolerate most soil conditions but should be planted where the soil is well drained to avoid root rot. Additionally, the ‘Red Dragon’ is moderately drought-tolerant but fares better with regular watering, especially in high-heat conditions.

The deeply cut reddish-purple leaves of the ‘Red Dragon’ are unique among dissectums. The claw-like shape of the leaves gives way to imagining hundreds of red dragon claws hanging from the tree’s cascading branches and gives the ‘Red Dragon’ its name. The leaves grow densely enough to obscure the trunk and branches of the ‘Red Dragon’ during the growing season, but in winter, the unique structure of the tree and its blackish-purple bark makes it an interesting addition in a winter landscape as well.

Developed in New Zealand just twenty years ago, the’ Red Dragon’ is quickly becoming one of the most admired
Japanese maple trees in America. The ‘Red Dragon’ is hardier than many of its cousins and its trainability makes it right for a extensive variety of environments. Growing the ‘Red Dragon’ in a container, as a bonsai, or by pruning to shape during its first few years allows gardeners to design and keep up the desired size and appearance of the tree. The ‘Red Dragon’ doesn’t react well to fertilizer or pesticides in the course of its growing season, making the tree simple to maintain. The ‘Red Dragon’ will not grow from seed and ought to be grafted in order to continue its unique characteristics.

The unique leaf characteristics and hardy growth make the weeping Japanese maple tree ‘Red Dragon’ an ever-well-liked selection for gardeners across America. Its beautiful colors, flexibility, and undemanding care make the ‘Red Dragon’ appropriate for almost any garden environment and will bring four seasons of pleasure to any owner.

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