How to Grow Bonsai Trees From Baby Maples

Overview

The art of Bonsai growing re-creates the look and feel of a larger tree in nature, but in miniature. Although maples are good for beginners, they are a little harder to maintain than many evergreens. With care, however, growing a maple Bonsai is very satisfying and will result with a beautiful indoor tree.

Step 1

Remove your baby maple from its pot, preferably a 1-gallon pot, in early spring just before the buds begin to form.

Step 2

Trim the roots to the size of the Bonsai pot. A hand shovel is often good for trimming roots, but pruning shears may be easier. The pot should be slightly larger than the overall size of the tree's canopy.

Step 3

Place the maple in the pot. Make sure the trunk is straight in the pot. Only use Bonsai pots with holes in the bottom.

Step 4

Use a good Bonsai potting soil to fill in the spaces around the roots. Maples can be more sensitive to poor drainage than some evergreens, so soils with bark, bits of granite, or other material to facilitate drainage are necessary.

Step 5

Trim the branches near the base of the tree to create a trunk with a sharp pair of pruning shears, for larger branches, or very sharp scissors, for smaller branches. Remove any branches that look like they will result in undesirable growth.

Step 6

Place the pot in a matching pan. Keep the pan filled with water. As the soil in the pot dries out, it will wick water up from the pan.

Step 7

Once established, judiciously nip any buds that look like they may result in undesired growth. Be conservative, removing too many buds can harm the tree.