Japanese Maple Comparison

[@n8tyler]

Working through your videos oldest to newest. I have a Japanese maple which I get a lot of seelings from, but as of yet none have taken. Really nice trees as week as good video content. Well done and thanks for sharing.

[@BonsaiNorthwest]

Thanks. Nice, I'd love to have a JM planted in the ground in my yard and have considered buying one. I hope you get some to take.

[@backbudbonsai]

Yuri hime is stunning!! And Mikawa Yatsubusas are great for bonsai! I would recommend Shishigashira maples if ur looking for tiny maple leaves. Ur maple bonsai look happy n healthy!! Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing! What percent shade cloth do u use??

[@BonsaiNorthwest]

Yes, I like Shishigashira and might add one to my collection, thanks for the recommendation. In the spring I have them in full sun. Once temperatures get above 90 (usually not until July), I put them under 40% shade cloth, until Sept or Oct or so. My Mikawa Yatsubusa definitely needs shade when it gets hot (I've had leaf burn before), although I wonder about my generic Japanese maple - it might be fine in full sun even in hot weather.

[@rb89362]

I love the green foliage on the Mikawa Yatsubusa! How do you decide which trees are okay to let freeze over the winter?

[@BonsaiNorthwest]

Mikawa Yatsubusa is a great (and popular) Japanese maple cultivar for bonsai! I highly recommend it. All Japanese maples can withstand frost in winter. However, there is a difference between 'top hardiness' (the temperature that the above ground branches and the trunk can withstand) and 'root hardiness' (the temperature that roots can withstand). Top hardiness of Japanese maples is generally -20 deg. F (-29 deg C). Root hardiness of Japanese maples (and other tree species) is much less, 15 deg. F (-10 deg. C). Pot size makes a difference - smaller pots will freeze through faster and thus need to be monitored more closely when winter temperatures drop below freezing. I got those temperatures for top and root hardiness from Michael Hagedorn's book 'Bonsai Heresy'.

[@rb89362]

@@BonsaiNorthwest Thanks for the info!

[@backbudbonsai]

I also am a maple bonsai fan and in the PNW. Tacoma, WA. Thanks for sharing.

[@BonsaiNorthwest]

Thanks for the introduction. I'll check out your channel. I'm in the Inland Northwest (Idaho panhandle), but only wanted my channel name to be two words so I dropped Inland. Thankfully Japanese maples still grow well here despite our more temperamental climate here (USDA Zone 6).