I live in the desert, [zone 9b] and I have been successful with indoor bonsai and junipers but I just really love maples. let's start by pretending that trying to grow maples in Las Vegas isn't a bad idea...
I bought a trident pre-bonsai last fall and it's trying to put on leaves but i can see they are burning off while very small.
I have it out of direct sunlight. what else should I be doing?

Xtal19 wrote:

I bought a trident pre-bonsai last fall and it's trying to put on leaves but i can see they are burning off while very small. I have it out of direct sunlight. what else should I be doing?

It's a bonsai? Is it in a pot? What type of soil is it in? Where do you keep it, indoors or outside, full sun, partial shade, shade? What is your watering regime? When did you purchase it, how long ago? How often have you fed it / do you feed it? Why do you think they are burning off? Do they shrivel up and disappear? How big is the pot? How deep? When was it last repotted? Is it at a windy location? Do you protect it from wind? What's your climate like, what's the current temperature by day? And what is it by night (sorry, didn't feel like looking that one up)? What's the humidity level? Have you pruned it? When? Was the tree vigorous last year? Did it stay outside during the winter? How cold are your winters? Do you have a photo?

What auk is telling you.. There are a lot of things that might be going wrong.

Personally, having been in similar deserty areas I would say the dry air moving along your tree is drying out the foliage faster than it can bring water to the roots.

I would keep it in the shade, out of the wind. Ideally you create a micro-climate with higher humidity, but I think that will be dificult (Unless you have the option to put it next to a waterfall, or stream of course..).

Auk wrote:

Bla bla

Or read this:

www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-...onmental/scorch.aspx

Hi Xtal,

You might also be interested in this thread, I think it might be helpful:

www.bonsaiempire.com/forum/help-me/6945-sunburns#10951

Alain

man i wrote a long reply and the site crashed
i bought it last fall. i slip potted it into a larger [picturted] pot
i monitor watering needs using the "check that stick i stuck into it" method i water it before it dries out completely.
i keep it outside under a covered porch out of direct sunlight
akadama/potting soil mix
climate is DRY current avg hi/low 85/60
leaves shrivel up before they grow to any size.
it had leaves last year, they fell for fall, i left it outside except for one week of hard freeze at which point it was kept in a garage.
pruning? not really. i cut off 2 very long leaders but that's it.
i fertilize with super green about once a month.
it's probably wind.
thanks for all the links and replies! <3

Sorry about the sideways pictures? they were aligned correctly in my PC gallery.

Xtal19 wrote:

i bought it last fall. i slip potted it into a larger [picturted] pot
i monitor watering needs using the "check that stick i stuck into it" method i water it before it dries out completely.
i keep it outside under a covered porch out of direct sunlight
akadama/potting soil mix
climate is DRY current avg hi/low 85/60

Sounds all good... looks like you're taking proper care of it. I'd try:
- Reduce the feeding - or even stop it for the moment until the tree does better
- Increase the watering (but not too much, do not keep it soaked continuously)

I'm sure you know, but you should water thoroughly, until water drips out of the drainage holes.

Do you mist? I understand you shouldn't do that (not because of sunburn through water droplets, that's a myth, but it makes the leaves stick together when they are wet).

I do not mist. we have very hard water here.
seems like the wind is the culprit. it has been windy and i really don't think the sun's been that brutal because none of my bell peppers are getting sun burn.

Ah... just now I saw the photo.
That's a young tree.

I'd stop giving it super green or any other liquid fertilizer.

Yes, it's probably the dry wind, but that's not the real cause:
As LB said, and as written in the article I referred to, it's the fact the roots cannot supply water to the leaves soon enough.