hi there, i recently received a little tree that my wife purchased as my birthday gift. it arrived safely with a heating pack inside the box and everything. it seems to be an american red maple (acer rubrum) based on leaf shape, but the care instructions they included in the email are for japanese red maple (acer palmatum atropurpurea) which i understand to be quite a popular type of bonsai. i imagine this is simply a case of the wrong instructions having been sent -- the website lists two other american red maples, and so i am not worried about having been swindled or anything like that. however it does seem that acer rubrum is fairly uncommon as a bonsai species, yeah ? i have found this care guide < www.evergreengardenworks.com/redmaple.htm > and was wondering if, in addition to verifying my id as rubrum, if this guide would be good enough to get me started for now. i have attached an image of the youngster in question. thank u

I care for all my maples in the same way. However, no Acer rubrum or what it is. Cant imagine any difference other than little more cold hardy than japaneese Acer.

Are you in the northern hemisphere? If that is the case your Acer is confused about season and might need some special care in order to survive winter and come out strong in spring.

thank you for the quick reply ! yes, i am in northern hemi, specifically central pennsylvania usa. i thought it was odd that the tree arrived (just a week or two ago) with green leaves instead of no leaves, so what you say about season confusion makes sense to me. what kind of special care do you mean ? i am told by the seller of the bonsai (who just emailed me back btwn my original post and writing this) that it will need lots of water and a humidity tray, so i have spent the last 90 minutes or so reading about that and finding good resources, etc. he also mentioned that i oughta do some research on pruning maples, to me this implies that the lil guy currently needs some of that soonish

I would be hesitant to take recommendations from someone who sells Maples in full leaf in the middle of winter and sends them to pennsylvania. This maple should be fully formant without leaves. What is the coolest frost-free bright place you can offer? This really is not a species to keep in the house.

The species is not often used, as the leafstalks stay very long, out of scale. But nothing stopping you from growing it, and accepting that it is what it is.

yes, ok. currently new friend is outdoors and gets as much sunlight as the sky has to offer on our balcony, from morning to evening. it is moderately chilly out there, earlier this morning it was very lightly snowing. looks like temps will drop to lowest 13f at night. my main concern here is frost -- it seems like my smartest course of action is to build a quick frame outta pvc pipe or something and then cloak the tree with a blanket overnight while temps fall below freezing. is this a smart idea or overkill? i do not have access to a garage or or shed or anything similar. the closest thing would be my truck parked outside but that is too inconvenient for me to consider seriously, plus it would not receive enough light

Yes, anything that gives the tree cold but frost free conditions until spring is your best chanse of vigour in spring.

When the tree is in that conditions it will not need much water. The tray metod will rot the roots.

About prunning. Dont do it until you have learnt how to take care of it a full growing season.