Rising care for indoor Japanese Maple bonsais
Many sites, including ours, lists the Japanese Maple as one of the best bonsais for beginners. The problem with this species is that it reacts badly to various situations, especially when it’s windy or incredibly cold. It’s probably better if you learn how to care for them indoors.
We already have a care guide for Japanese Maple bonsais indoors, but this article takes a different approach. I’ll be looking at why it’s so challenging to keep them at optimal health and what inspires people to keep them inside instead of outside.
Why caring for an indoor Japanese Maple bonsai is so challenging
There are few species as beautiful as a bonsai than the Japanese Maple. You have so many variants to choose from, and they display different leaf colors over the seasons. As you prune them on your tree, the leaves become smaller and look like tiny stars. However, there are a few challenges to growing them outdoors and indoors.
Learn how to care for Japanese Maples indoors
Dealing with humidity and mold
If you live in an area with high humidity, the most dreaded issue with Japanese Maple bonsais is mold. They love darkness and moisture, especially if there isn’t sufficient airflow. You’ll see these small balls of white fluff appear on the nodes and under leaves, which can eventually lead your tree to die.
In our guide above, you’ll see how to ensure that your indoor Japanese Maple bonsai doesn’t have to deal with this fungus. With plenty of light and fresh air, you won’t have to spray the leaves with fungicide or try to remove them individually.
The sensitive leaves
Having your indoor Japanese Maple near the window or outside is an issue with the leaves. If you have a variant with sensitive leaves, they’ll quickly burn. You need to find a way to shield it from the harsh sunlight in summer while still making sure it receives light.
That’s why it’s so challenging with this species. You never know where the best place is to keep it until you see new growth and happy leaves. Some people place the tree outside with a mesh overhead that filters the light onto the tree.
Why leaving Japanese Maple bonsais outside is a bad idea
I’ve had a Japanese Maple bonsai for about two years now that I bought from a local nursery. Unfortunately, it didn’t take too well to being outside during spring or summer. The leaves burnt quickly, which had me racing it back indoors. It was the red J.maple variety, and it quickly showed me that it wanted to be inside with only a few hours of indirect sunlight.
The other problem is dealing with heavy winds or rainfall. Even if you have the pot nailed to the table or some way of holding it down, the leaves don’t like all that blowing around. So, while you may prefer having your Japanese Maple bonsai outside, there’s a good chance it will prefer being indoors with you.
Happier and healthier Japanese Maples
You may be wondering how this topic ended up being a news piece. It all started with some of our readers asking more about caring for indoor Japanese bonsais. Also, we noticed a trend of more people searching for it online.
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that more and more people are finding this species challenging to care for especially indoors. I hope this article and the above guide will help you in some way.
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