Trident Maple Help

[Chloe.S]

Hi, my name's Chloe and I joined so I could receive useful and specific advice about Bonsai while reading up on the general care.

I'm very new to bonsai, a friend gave me a Trident Maple bonsai for my birthday and I'm determined to look after it. I've had it for only 7 or 8 days now but I'm starting to have problems (yes I've also done extensive research).
I've been regularly watering (once or twice a day) it with a light spray bottle but not fertilising it (I haven't found a good fertiliser to use yet). I've been keeping it outside, mainly in direct sunlight on a north-eastern facing deck. The area is bright in the morning and shaded in the afternoon. It's still early summer and the weather has been varying, but today is very warm so I've moved it inside so it doesn't get burned or anything of the like.

First of all, I want to trim the roots of the tree because it looks root-bound to me. But it's summer (not the right season for repotting or trimming roots?) so I don't want to risk damaging the plant further.

I lifted it put of its pot and saw a rootball, not much soil. Plus there's fine roots showing on the surface. That's root bound, right? Should I prune it?

Also, the leaves have been orangey since I got it. I presume that's natural because its young, but recently the leaves have started to dry up and wilt a bit. I've been watering it regularly, but there was a few instances when it was out in hot sun, but most of the time I've been moving it into a shadier bit in the afternoon.


Here's another picture (I used flash in this one, its also sideways)


The leaves are getting dry, they're not very green, some are more red than others, some have reddening tips and some are yellowy. There's some very young leaves that are also very red. The new stalks are also red. (It's summer by the way, not autumn)

Please, if you can reliably diagnose my situation or offer some advice it would be very much appreciated.

[Bougy Fan]

Hi Chloe and welcome. On the positive side there is no problem with the mix holding too much water Yes you are spot on very root bound which stops the uptake of water and nutrient. I would firstly give in a soak in a bath of seasol and let it recover a bit. You could slip pot it into a bigger container with a free draining mix and tease out the roots a bit. The assertion that it's not really the right time of year is correct - you can't do any major root work until it goes dormant. I'm sure some other members will chime in with good advice.

[vgarth]

Oh boy, that's rootbound alright. I would recommend temporarily putting it into a larger pot, any sort, plastic pot not bonsai pot if need be, with more soil under it and around the sides. Then soak, can have some seasol in the water. Even if you just put the whole pot it's in now in a tub of water for 20 minutes. Misting with a spray bottle is not enough. You must make sure it's thoroughly soaked through. A lot of bonsai enthusiasts have a plastic tray like a kitty-litter tray that they use to soak any bonsai that are not getting enough water via regular watering. Then in late winter next year, you report, pruning the roots, and get it back into the pot it's in now. But until it's the right season to repot, you must keep it well watered, whether it has more soil or not. If you want a plastic temporary pot that's not too deep for it to be in while you wait for repotting time, a lot of people use what are termed orchid pots. Shallower than regular black plastic pots.
All the best, keep it alive with enough water til repootting time...

[kcpoole]

Yep Over pot till you can do a repot, or just if you are braver, cut off the outside and bottom 10 mm of roots, then repot back into the pot with fresh mix.
Soak in Seasol for a few hours 3 times a week, and keep in Semi shade until new leaves are growing and well on the way to recovery. Water every day by Soaking in tub and cover the pot for 10 mins, or watering with a watering can and fine holed cap.

Let the water flow out the bottom of the pot, let sit for 2 minutes then repeat.

Ken

[Neli]

Also after all the good advise try not to move the tree . Leave it in one place. It stresses it.

[Chloe.S]

Thanks everyone for your advice, I'm doing my best to take it on board with me. I'm reluctant to do anything drastic but I really appreciate the input.



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[Neli]

Lots of good info on tridents here:
http://www.sabonsai.co.za/forum/index.p ... msearch__1

[Shane Martin]

Hi Chloe, The first piece of advise you must take straight away, is the suggestion of soaking and covering the entire pot in a solution of seasol (recommended dilution rates for stressed trees), but at least 25mls/9L. Your tree needs immediate hydration or it will die with this summer heat. DO NOT water bonsai with a spray mister.... this is bad advise whoever gave it to you.... the entire root system must be properly hydrated to allow your tree to uptake water and nutrients. I would get a foam fruit box from the supermarket, buy a bag of good quality free draining potting mix.... doesn't matter if it's bonsai mix or not..... take it out of the bonsai pot, and slip it into the foam box and cover the top of the rootball well to insulate the entire rootball. Not too deep! and water in really well with the seasol mixture until it runs out of the bottom of the box. DO NOT FERTILIZE . Put it in a morning sun only position out of ANY wind, and leave it there. In that size box, it will stay properly hydrated for a good 2-3 days..... DO NOT wet the foliage when you water. If the tree responds with in a couple of weeks with any new budding or shoots, you are in the clear, and can start to introduce some liquid fertilizer at half strength.... This "slip potting" is just a temporary measure until the end of next Winter when you can do a proper root prune and repot.
Foam boxes like this in pic attached

Trident Maple Winter Dig 26-9-12.jpg

[Chloe.S]

Shane, I gotta know: what kind of Seasol? I thought Seasol was fertiliser, but you told me not to fertilise. There's a lot of different Seasol products. What do you recommend I get (name of product etc?)


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[kcpoole]

Seasol is not a Fert, just a soil conditioner and plant tonic
http://www.commercial.seasol.com.au/ind ... 3/2-seasol

Safe to use on stressed plants
Ken

[Shane Martin]

Shane, I gotta know: what kind of Seasol? I thought Seasol was fertiliser, but you told me not to fertilise. There's a lot of different Seasol products. What do you recommend I get (name of product etc?)


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As Ken said Chloe it's not a fertilizer but a seaweed tonic and helps stress plants recover easier.
Bunnings sell it.... Just ask an assistant to help you find it. Ask for it by name." Seasol" There may be other seaweed products out there but I only know of the genuine original one with Seasol as it's name and brand.

[Chloe.S]

I would get a foam fruit box from the supermarket, buy a bag of good quality free draining potting mix.... doesn't matter if it's bonsai mix or not..... take it out of the bonsai pot, and slip it into the foam box and cover the top of the rootball well to insulate the entire rootball.

So I took your advice and this is what I ended up doing:


Is that alright? I'm thinking it might've been better if I put the tree in the middle but I've watered it (you can see runoff water on the surface) and it feels too late to change it. I figure the container will become seriously waterlogged if I keep watering. Is that a good thing in my case?

Also, when I put the soil in, I didn't mix it with any of those pebbles, I just put them on the top. Should I have? (It's specifically bonsai mix though)
(I initially didn't fill the whole thing up with soil, I just had it in that corner. But that didn't work out because it began to topple when I watered it.)

[Shane Martin]

Chloe,
It looks like you got a box without drainage holes You can't leave it like this or it will drown. Take it back out and just wrap the rootball in a wet towel until you can poke some holes in the box. In a box this size you should have at least 6 holes in the bottom around 1 cm diameter. Cover the holes with some plastic mesh so your soil doesn't just wash out. Now put a layer of new potting mix in the box about 4-5 cms deep, now place the tree in the centre of the box and top up with more soil. Give it a good water until you see water coming out from the drainage holes. Keep the soil you had already used.
It just needs to drain all that water away.

[Chloe.S]

So I've been away for 10 days, I've had someone else to take care of it in that time. It's just been getting half-strength Seasol and water. I hear the weather has been pretty mild lately and there's a good chance it'll continue to be.

These are the leaves I came back to:



If you ask me I'd say its looking pretty good but still needs careful attention. When should I stop feeding it Seasol and/or give it fertiliser?

[bodhidharma]

The potting mix generally comes with fertiliser in it so i would check that first. If it does then you wont have to fertilise for the next month or so. A good question was asked but not answered. Does the box have drainage holes If it does, great, if not i would put some in. Glad it survived for you as it is rewarding to save a struggling tree.