He bonsai the Maple palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’‘ is one of the most popular: it has palmate leaves, which in spring and especially in autumn turn a deep red. During the summer, contrary to what we might think, they are red-green or even green.
However, although it is relatively easy to care for when the climate is temperate and humid, things get complicated when it is subtropical and/or if the air humidity is also very low. Let’s see what kind of care do you need.
What are the bonsai care of Maple palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’‘? As there are several things that we have to do to make it right, we are going to talk about each one of them separately:
Location. where to put my bonsai Maple palmatum ‘Atropurpureum’‘?
I will tell you first where you do NOT have to have it: indoors. Having him inside the house is sentencing him to deathbecause although it is small, it has the same needs as a normal Japanese maple. In fact, the only difference between a bonsai of Maple palmate and a Japanese maple garden plant is that the former is pruned to keep it in a bonsai tray, while the latter is left to grow more or less to its own devices.
Therefore, we have to put our bonsai outside from the first day. Where exactly? Sun, shadow? Well, I recommend putting in shadowand more if you live in the Mediterranean region since the sun is very strong in summer, so much so that it burns the leaves very easily.
In the event that you are in an area where the climate is temperate, with temperatures that do not usually exceed 30ºC during the summer season, and remain mild the rest of the year, then you could have it in semi-shade; that is to say, in a place where it would get direct sun for a little while in the early morning or at sunset, and then shade the rest of the day.
What style to give?
When we buy a bonsai (or bonsai project, because we remember that not everything that is sold as bonsai is), normally it already has a pre or defined style. This is usually, for example, chokkan (more or less straight trunk with a triangular crown), broom (slightly inclined trunk with most of the branches growing on one side), or forest (several specimens growing together). Then what we have to do is simply cut the branches that are growing too much with scissors.
