Dear bonsai friends,

Last winter I bought a Japanese maple. I live in the Netherlands and our summer is quite warm. During this summer my maple started to look very unhealthy and I suspect the leaves got sunburnt. I live in a dorm with a balcony facing to the east (I think I get 5 hours of sun on my balcony during summer) and water my maple once a day. Since the leaves started to look this way I mist my maple twice a day. Lastly, my maple receives nutrition once in 2 weeks with a 4-4-6 NPK distribution. I hope one of you can help me identify the mistake I made and a possible solution to prevent this maple from dying. If any more info is needed, I am happy to know.

Thank you in advance!

This is a bonsai forum, so maybe you can better try a forum for Japanese maples? I googled one, I'm sure there are more:

davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/japmap/all/

Well its one I bought as a sort of pre-bonsai which I would like to chump down this winter and slip it into a bonsaipot next spring, so I thought this forum was sufficient for my question.

I would say lack of water is a good start. If your weather has been as hot as ours then watering is crucial to get right. But the leaves will drop in autumn so it is not really a problem. The tree should be outside though.

Hey, welcome!

I have a maple that also has gotten some heat and drought stress. I am not too concerned yet. It is not pretty but it is not too big an issie yet.

Do not however, move it to a small pot in spring. As it is now, it is just a maple. Read up on developing maple bonsai. This tree had quite a few years of training ahead before it is ready for a bonsai pot. That really is the last stage.

Thank you for your reply! I wanted to put it in a training bonsai pot (24x31cm) so it can still develop, or do you think this is too small for this tree?