A Shohin Trident maple before & after defoliation by Harry Harrington. Just to give you some perspective, this sturdy little tree is only 8" (20cm) high.
It’s time to defoliate. Early summer heat is causing leaves to become oversized. With some deciduous bonsai (especially maples) defoliation works wonders. Not only are the new leaves smaller, but they tend to produce better fall color.
Most defoliation is a one-time-per-summer, per-tree occasion. If you live where the summers are very long, it’s possible to defoliate twice in one summer.* Be careful though. If there isn’t enough time to fully recover before cold weather sets in, you might endanger the health of you bonsai.
The photos shown here are from Harry Harrington’s facebook feed. If facebook isn’t your thing (or even if it is), you might want to visit Harry’s excellent website.
Before. Leaves are getting too large and dense. Time to defoliate. As you can see, this is a healthy and vigorous tree. A perfect candidate. Unhealthy trees, or trees just recovering from rootpruning should be given at least another season to recover full health.
After. Each leaf stem is cut well above its base to avoid damaging new buds. Thus all the little stems sticking up all over the place. Just leave them. Wind or a gentle brushing with fingers will cause them to fall off when the time is right.
*There are stories of trees being defoliated three times in one season, but that requires longer summers and more expertise than most of us posses.
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