My Shohin Japanese Maple Tiny Leaf

FLABonsai

The room it gets good light is the bathroom. I leave the window cracked open a little when im not home and open it all the way when im home . i,ve been misting it twice a day once in the morning and in the late afternoon. I have heard that a bathroom has a lot of humidity also I live in South FL.I hope it will be ok until I move to a location to move it outside

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Lindwurm

is it possible at all to grow japanese maples in central/south florida

isnt it too hot there?

spoonman

in summer, here in melbourne the temps are from around 32degrees celsius to 43, and my maples do fine, as long as they are watered and dont dry out.

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"Little laurel trees, your roots can find
No mountain, yet your leaves extend
Beyond your own world into mine
Perennial wands, unfolding in my thought
The budding evergreen of time."
-Kathleen Raine, The Trees in Tubs

JoshMoRenaud

The humidity from the shower, faucet, and toilet will still not provide enough constant humidity to support an outdoor tree. The humidity will skyrocket after a shower, but will drop over the next hour or so down to nearly 0%. The bathroom isn't an adequate replacement for the fresh outdoor air.

John Dixon

If you can get that tree to survive inside, you definitely have me beat. It has to be outside, period (my opinion), unless you have a greenhouse,etc.

My biggest concern would be what to do in the winter. Maples REQUIRE a dormant season (ie. cold weather), and your area cannot provide that. I have heard of people using a refrigerator for shohin type trees in warm areas, but I have no experience in that. If you happen to have a "trustworthy" friend with bonsai experience in a colder climate, a little travel may be in order for that tree come fall. Having never lived in Florida, I am certainly no expert, but I can't recall anyone having good luck with maples in tropical-like conditions, and it's always linked to the year-round warm temperatures.

I wish you luck.

John

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John Dixon

Si vis pacem parabellum

Stay off the trails of others, that's where the booby-traps are.

FLABonsai

does anyone have any info on the refrigerator trick?

John Dixon

Let me start with a disclaimer; I've never tried the refrigerator storage.

What I have heard about it is that with small trees, storage in the refrigerator (not the freezer) can help trees like maple have a dormant season. The theory is that the lower temp and the humidity in the refrigerator are an alternate to "winter conditions" outside. Places like lower Florida, just don't have the winter "rest" that maples need. It would have to be for several months, since we all know that once a maple starts to warm up, it throws buds. I'm sure you would need to remove it periodically to water it, but other than that, the inside of the fridge does the rest.

I'm sorry I don't have more info. If I can find an article on the process, I'll try to forward the info to you. Good luck.

John

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John Dixon

Si vis pacem parabellum

Stay off the trails of others, that's where the booby-traps are.

FLABonsai

Thanks john for the info