Hello,
As you can probably tell from the title, I am fairly new to bonsai care. I have had my red Japanese maple (at least that's what I think it is, hahaha, please tell me if I'm wrong) for just over 3 months now as a gift from my girlfriend. The tree has been growing really well, so well in fact that it started growing way too much at the top, so I cut off about a 1/3 of the trees foliage as I seen on YouTube. But here's a couple of questions. Did I do it right? Do I cut off some of the branches that are left at the top? Should I expose some of the trunk? Is this bonsai suitable for outdoor during the winter (as I already keep it outside)? If so, how do I prepare it? Is the soil good enough? Also, this is what I use for pruning my bonsai. Is it okay, or is it too small? Thank you in advance for any responses and I apologise for the overwhelming amount of questions :silly:

Why did you defoliate it?

Hi Clicio,
I defoliated it at the top as I saw one video on YouTube which said to cut off the leaves at the top in order to increase growth at the bottom so that it's balanced out more. Also, about a 1/2 of the leaves I cut off was scorched from the sun. Was it a bad idea? Is it normal that some of the leaves are purple?
Thanks for the reply

That is not why the tree is defoliated. Of course it must be outside all year it is a hardy species. I am not sure what you mean about exposing the trunk, looks fine.. Yes it was a bad idea to defoliate the way you did it, it will not promote growth lower down. It is also a bit late in the year to be doing it. What you could have done is to remove the larger leaves all over that is what I sometimes do. , but I see nothing wrong with the leaves.

Thank you so much, i will remember this for the future and i'll try not to make the same mistake again. I'm new to bonsai so i'm still learning, so if there's any tips that could help me with care for this little guy i will greatly appreciate it

i would keep it outside at all times even in winter. maples need the cold weather for winter dormancy. place it somewhere that only receives morning sun or evening sun. protect it from intense mid day sun or else it will scorch the leaves and possibly die. i would suggest letting it grow and repotting next spring into a bigger training pot or in your garden to achieve a bigger trunk. water when soil is dry to the touch and dont let it dry out completely. also do ALOT of studying you have years maybe decades before you achieve a decent trunk.

Buy a book, there are some just for Acers, but buy a book and read. If you can find a local club and you are serious about learning then join a club. Far better than youtube.

I've just posted a series of good bonsai books in this forum. Two or three are specific for maples.

Can you give me a link to this post?

TPVerheijke wrote: Can you give me a link to this post?

Yes, for sure!

www.bonsaiempire.com/forum/evolve/11967-...i-books-a-basic-list