How to Style and Develop Japanese Maple Seedlings

[@kreativ_corals]

I love the tip about checking wire thickness by pushing on the branches. Genius! Thanks for sharing :)

[@Watashiwapitadesu]

thought the exact same!

[@greekbecky1]

Very nice video. I have many maple seedlings and now I know what to do, thank you!

[@MomijiEn]

Thanks! Have fun!

[@khalidalmurir7070]

Please help me get seeds or seedlings of red Japanese maple 🙏

[@alexi.432]

Beautiful backyard 😍

[@MomijiEn]

Thank you!!

[@gallo82nd35]

Wonderful channel, thank you sharing your knowledge.

[@richardschaffling9882]

Thank you

[@gloriablanco7856]

Love it!

[@MomijiEn]

Thanks!

[@bonsaiartwork3378]

Amazing👍👍..love this video

[@Marcello.Consign]

Love this video! thank you so much :D

[@MomijiEn]

Thanks for watching!! Glad to hear you enjoyed it! 👍

[@ChrisW.Fuji_Canon]

wonderful 👍thx🙏

[@freshface2991]

8:18 is that akadama? And would they do well in that?

[@MomijiEn]

Akadama and pumice mix. Works very well but needs frequent watering.

[@keysBW]

When do you start cutting on a seedling

[@kbt6565]

Hi, thank you for sharing your knowledge and I have one question how long should I remove these wire and if I remove it do I have to rewire them again till the trunk get big. Thanks

[@MomijiEn]

Hello! Remove the wire before it bites into the bark. If the trunk or branch still needs some movement, try wiring it on the opposite direction so that light scar from the previous wiring can heal while the new wire holds the movement for the next few weeks/months.

[@rodkon]

How would I keep the young tree during winter

[@MomijiEn]

Depends on where you live but if the winter temperature continues to be below 2-3c / 35-38F, it's safer to keep them in a unheated greenhouse or garage. Alternatively you can place them on the ground and bury the pot or button half with mulch.

[@Bob-up7lt]

Question! Why not trim the taproot on the sapling you wired and potted up? It looked really long and I thought it was desired to cut the taproot at some point. Thanks!

[@MomijiEn]

Good question. From my experience, I only work on trimming roots in late winter/early Spring before JMs start pushing new growth. If I did this work earlier, I would have trim the taproot but I didn't want to do that in May.

[@Bob-up7lt]

@@MomijiEn ahh makes perfect sense now. Thanks!

[@HAJUBONSAI]

Good

[@rmanivong]

what soil are you using please and why? I am waiting for my 6 month yr old maple seedling in the mail and would like to take the proper action to train them into bonsai just like these, but I am really GREEN in this process and knowing how to soil at this stage and others would be so helpful. thank you so much in advance!

[@MomijiEn]

The balance of good drainage and moisture retention is key in any stage. I love using the mix of Akadama and pumice but it may not be always affordable. Especially for younger trees, sifted pine bark & pumice work pretty well.

[@SaPH1314]

I just discovered your channel and I wish I had discovered it sooner! Is there a chance to wire and shape a trunk that's already hardened?? I got a little maple 4 years ago but it wasn't shaped. I would like to shape it but idk if it's too late?

[@MomijiEn]

If the trunk is too thick already, it would be hard to shape a trunk. One option is to cut it back and grow a new leader to create movement 🙂

[@keysBW]

You are amazing. Where do you buy your bonsai soil

[@MomijiEn]

Local bonsai shop 😁

[@mustafa249]

What is your Fertilizer preporties N? p? k? I heard some other videos some people say less N would be beter for japenese maples Thanks.

[@MomijiEn]

Fertilizing JMs too much can affect fall colors but it's useful for a specific purpose. For young tree, I use Osmocote Plus with 15-9-12 from Spring to Fall to accelerate the growth. For mature trees, I start fertilizing after mid spring with less N like Bio Gold with 5-6-3. Hope this helps!

[@RosarioCostanzo]

Great work, as always! What kind of maple is the one with big leaves? I have a maple with similar leaves but I can't understand what it is

[@MomijiEn]

Thank you! The one I showed in the video was big leaf maple.

[@RosarioCostanzo]

@@MomijiEn is that the name? So probably mine is that too, it has very big leaves😂thank you

[@markgabriana3262]

Hi! Just wondering, is it better to cut the tap root early, or will that cause too much damage to the seedlings?

[@MomijiEn]

It depends. If the seedling has enough fine roots, you can remove the tap root. However I would only work on roots during the repotting season in late winter or early spring.

[@gregmatthews6991]

I’m growing Japanese maple from seeds and I have 3 I put into bonsai pots I think there like 4 months old how long before I can get them bigger snd start to wire them up how often should I water them and what’s a good Fertilizer

[@iljadi]

Nice Video😊 Do you use pure Akadama as soil? How often do you have to water it?

[@MomijiEn]

Thank you! I use different soil mix, sometimes a mix of Akadama and pumice and another time a mix of sifted bark and pumice. I'm also trying cuctus mix to see if that works.

[@danielnichols3713]

When you take a cutting from a mother tree does the age of the cutting stay the same ? I hope that makes sense

[@MomijiEn]

Hmm interesting question..the mother tree might be old but the cuttings you take might be young - so the age would be different? 🤔

[@RosarioCostanzo]

But the portion of tree good for making a cutting is practically a newly born🤔

[@RikardEnglundSWE]

You Said in a previous video that you used pumice and akadama as substarate. Do you fertilize with every watering? Hos are the waterholding capabilities? Is this true even for order trees aswell? BR Rikard /Sweden

[@MomijiEn]

I use different soil mix. My favorite is Akadama/pumice mix but Akadama is expensive in the US. This mix dries up fairly fast so I need to water regularly which accelerates the growth during the growing season and let the water drain fast during our rainy reason in the PNW. I use pellets that release nutrients slowly every time I water my plants.

[@yopage]

Where is a good source for bonsai wire in the U.S.?

[@Chris-oq6kn]

Great video. I have some questions in my maple forest one of my trees leaves have all died off. Its now spring and the rest of the trees are doing ok but the leaves are kind of sagging.will a maple push out a second flush of grow? Do u think it was from under or over watering? And can a maple surive without any leaves on it now? I did fertilize them with biogold should i stop fertilizing now that they look like they may be struggling? Thanks

[@MomijiEn]

Thanks for watching! It happens often in a forest where all trees are completing for space and a few weak ones die off naturally. If you notice other ones are also struggling, there may be another reason. I would remove fertilizer and monitor the soil condition.

[@Chris-oq6kn]

@@MomijiEn thank u very much for ur replies. Well the soil is brand new and very well drained . Will a maple push new leaves again maybe during the summer or it only has buds for one year? I scrape the bark its still green guess ill leave them alone for now . Sad to make a forest and right away one isnt doing so well. I guess time will tell

[@MomijiEn]

@@Chris-oq6kn something similar happened to me before and I guess the tree didn't like the root work I did in late winter. It may or may not push new growth but as long as it's alive, it should push new growth next year.

[@miniaturebonsai195]

If you like it, can you share the video clip on Facebook?

[@keysBW]

How are are those trees you are wiring

[@keysBW]

How old are the trees?

[@MomijiEn]

1-7 years old

[@khalidalmurir7070]

Please help me get seeds or seedlings of red Japanese maple 🙏

[@Josef_R]

Do you ever do this with your landscape trees as well? I have two 1-quart Bloodgoods coming in a week or two and was thinking about doing one or both when I plant it in the yard.

[@MomijiEn]

I don't usually wire my landscape trees as they grow so fast that I'm worried about scarring the trunk and/or branches. Clip & grow is much safer and better IMO.

[@Josef_R]

@@MomijiEn The method is irrelevant, I just wanted to know if you shape landscape trees as well.

[@MomijiEn]

@@Josef_R yes I prune and shape all of my garden trees.

[@bodhisattva6308]

My JM is 1.4 this size after 3 years. What I doing wrong?

[@MomijiEn]

JMs grow slowly especially when 1) it's growing in a small container, 2) the soil stays too moist/wet, and 3) not getting enough sunlight. Does any of these apply?

[@sadoldgit313]

Why does everyone want to grow IKEA style “S” twist trees? Immature Maples in particular are not suited to wiring anyway, the bark scars too easily! They all look like those “Big Box” hardware store rip offs! Wire when necessary but clip and grow by preference, especially in the early years!

[@MomijiEn]

Yes that's one way to do it!