Hot Summer Tips: How to Fix Scorched Bonsai Leaves 

not gonna finish that maple then finishes it.... love this guy

My grandmother kept bonsai for 30+ years in South Africa. She mainly kept ficus but some deciduous. She'd keep them under black netting shade and dunk each of them in big buckets of water for a few hours a day in the height of summer. They lived for a long time and are still going years after her passing. Thanks as always Peter.

My maples were getting burned also. I cut the leaves and they grow like the next day. Thanks for the lesson Don Peter

Hi Mr, Chan. I have had the opportunity to formerly study Ornamental Horticulture at the College level. I fell in love with the art of bonsai mid-study. And I have been practicing bonsai for a couple decades now. I've had the pleasure of reading some of your books. I find your quandary about why they burn interesting since you have been practicing bonsai since I was a baby. Firstly I want to say what an honor it is to be able to communicate with you. Now if I can impart just a smidge.... In my college classes my professors as well as guest speakers always talked about the importance of understanding where these trees live in nature. The Japanese Maples are also called mountain maples in Japan. Well because they like cool temperatures. Also Japanese Maples being short in stature in nature are typically understory trees or edge of the woodland trees. As maples are generally well adapted to living in the shade of other trees. Living understory also means they are generally protected from strong winds that will dry them out from their foliage. Landscapers are taught to plant them in a protected spot and to search for microclimates in the landscape that will accomedate them. I'd love to discuss with you about your acheles heal that being Gingko biloba's. Gingko's don't do well for you because firstly you live in the UK. Secondly Gingko's in the landscape can't stand being wet. Gingko's do best in the landscape where they can be largely in dry locations. If they are over watered first they stop growing, then they decline and eventually die. That goes for the landscape as well as bonsai. Learning where these trees originate in nature will help you emulate the conditions you need to provide them for their best success. Bonsai is not a one size fits all approach. Sometimes we need to understand what the trees want and follow their lead. Again all due respect Mr. Chan. I hope I managed to give you all the respect and honor due to a person of your position in life. And if I offended my deepest apologies. -DK

He is using "LacBalsam" as a wound sealant, if you're wondering :-)

I've seen these maples have burned leaves in Dallas/Fort Worth, NW Arkansas, NE Oklahoma, and Southern Alabama. So it doesn't seem to be ONLY the planting zone that it happens; and often I've totally given up on them - in the past. Now I know they need to be snipped and watered properly - given a chance to "come back". Thanks for the tips!

7b, yews are extremely hardy, drought tolerate, and vigorous, if only the deer stayed away… thank you Peter you’re the man!

What will happen if you leave the trees at their own device when the leaves are burned like that?

Woohoo! But my coffee went cold 😁 IYKYK 😁 I was reading that many trees are having a 'false autumn', and the extreme dryness caused them to pull all moisture from the leaves and hold it in the trunk and roots. So they dry up like autumn leaves.

Funny, all my trees seem to be flushing at the same time, JBP, ISP, JRP, Dwarf ALberta Spruce and Doug Firs all throwing new growth at the same time, strange but good to see. Thanks for the video Peter, great as always.

I’m in Kent. An hour away from Herons. I found that my maples out in the open were burn more, they weren’t shaded from the sun or shaded from the wind, so maybe the heat from the sun was carried more through the trees. Just a theory really. I have some maples shaded by the house wall that is in full sun but not so windy and they haven’t suffered, those out in the open did get burned, Red leave maples burnt more than the green leaves.

In the American midwest we get this weather frequently during the summer. The Japanese maples seem to hate it and I get lots of leaf burn, but the native maples and oaks don’t skip a beat. Select all the good trees and take cuttings to keep the hardiest trees to continue on.

Hi sir, your bonsai garden is a legacy seriously it takes time to have all of those Bonsai and bonsai materials . more success to your channel Bonsai Noy here from Philippines👍

My 3 maples started growing new bigger leafs 🍃 when I cut off the burnt ones! Thanks for sharing Pete 🌳👍

Boiling here in the US... back from church ... sitting in what l wish was an air-conditioned home... enjoying an iced tea and a biscuit and listening to your relaxing and informative post , thank you.

It may be a lot of extra work in an already busy nursery to do all the dried maple leaf pruning, but you sure did find a way to turn lemons into lemonade. That 9 day old new growth looked great!

I was scared I was losing my coral bark maple, but last year you've taught me not to be too worried if this happens. I've moved it to a area that has a little bit more shade, clip the leaves out but leave the leaf stems on. And to my surprise it's starting coming back. You also taught me that the longer they get used to the full sun in a few years time they won't have leaf burning as bad. Thank you Peter.

When I looked it up on the internet, people said not to leaf prune in August because it was too late. It's a shame that your videos come out with such a delay, because I would have given it a go if you said so. I hope my maples will survive the winter after such a tough summer

Thank you Peter🌺🌺🌺

A very timely video. We went through a major heatwave in the US and all my maples got scorched too. Leaf pruning has helped in each of them.

Im in Australia, my maple bonsais do the same if i leave them out in the middle of summer, and its not just direct sun light, they suffer under shade too. Seaweed solution seems to help.

I have a varigated Maple which always gets burnt leaves but not to the same degree as yours have. And now it's suddenly creating new shoots & leaves - so this video is very timely, thank you - My 2 Green Maples are fine though 👍😊

I was just watching your prior video on frost and sun burnt leaves. I really needed another video on it, so thank you for posting this. I had to go out and mostly leaf prune all my Japanese Maples. My poor deshojo had it the worst I think.

Lessons from Peter are always greatly appreciated. Thank you for understanding what works best for the trees. Would you also like to add a suggestion for when to fertilizer? I appreciate any help you can provide. Chris

Thanks Peter. It was my hawthorns that fritzed.

Many thanks to you. Exactly this happened to my maple and then this video showed up. Thanks for the help

Thanks, Peter, for the demonstration.

I see you are building you a new building. My red Japanese maple tree had lots of scorched leaves this summer, but it is still living. My Japanese green leaf maple made it fine no scorched leaves. Now i know to water them more often and put them in the shade part of the day. stay safe Peter

Good morning.

Thank you Peter-chan! I wish you and your nursery all the best. Keep on doing videos! 🙏🏻

I have a 3 ft high red Japanese maple that has been grown in a pot, I decided this year to plant it in the front garden as the shape was not great for bonsai. After 3 months of looking great it started to scorch no matter when and how often I watered it. Lost all of its leaves. However it has now started to regrow its leaves. Not quite as full as when it did in spring as still hot and dry. But it is regrouping. I think it is the humidity that the maples struggle with. If humidity is higher then they seem to cope better!

I started watering my maples in the morning hours and also poured some extra water in the lower shell so the roots are kept moist during the midday heat and my maples wh looked just as bad recovered pretty fast

Thank you so much! After work I'll be doing this to my burnt trees!

Concerning leaf pruning for a smaller crop of leaves. I've heard there is a relationship between feeder root surface area and leaf surface area. If this is true, then you will only see smaller leaves if you have trimmed the roots recently.

Brilliant advice Peter I will go ahead and remove the scorched leaves from my maple bonsai

Peter I have found it very easy to use black plastic sheeting propped up by tree limbs to form a basin for water for my J. Maples. I let them soak for 1/2 hour or so and then let them drain off completely (important or they will die from too much water which I've done too.) Once the soil dries out in the hot sun it is difficult to water it as the soil compacts and the water runs off. It's hard to train people in this. Yes, it's true you do lose some of the professional beauty of the racks, but not much if you use large branches to prop up the plastic. Plus it makes watering so much easier, time saving and effective in all the drought conditions we are experiencing. Just heartbreaking to see all the leaves burnt. Blessings.

Thanks for the information. Good stuff. Congratulations on the expansion.

Thx for sharing Peter 👍

The trees are in tiny pots and don’t get enough water. They have to be watered 2-3 times a day only on. The dirt and roots only not getting the leaves wet. It’s bonsai 101 wet leaves equals burnt leaves, and dry roots equals burnt leaves

OK Peter, my J. maples were toasted as usual each summer so today I went ahead and defoliated all 5. Now that temps have eased back a bit here I hope to get a good fall crop of leaves. I also have the trees in partial shade where they only get a couple hours of morning sun then are protected by a high canopy with dappled sunlight the rest of the day. It would be helpful in your videos if you would say more about after care when you recommend procedures like this as I am sure it can make or break a response.

Good afternoon Peter, and thanks for the video! I’ve followed your example on my maple forest that I made last year using your maple forest kit. 3 fully recovered, but 2 didn’t make it. I shall get some new ones next time we pay a visit to the nursery!

One of my umbrella pines has been suffering in the northeast zone 6

I did the same and watered and feed at night and the trees are doing fine.

I am new to bonsai, I have 2 avocado bonsai that are doing great. They dry out quickly here in texas so they are indoors. I am learning alot from mr chan and all of you who comment. Thank you for teaching me.

What about if only the tips are burned?

Thank you Peter, 🥰 Love from Sweden❤

I forgot. I bought some wilt stop from Bonide to spray on my plants. It states on the spray bottle it is for use on evergreens,trees,shrubs,flowers,house plants. and prevents winter kill,wind burn,sunscald,salt damage and drying out. I have used it on my plants. It seems to work so far. Peter i will cut off the burned leaves. This video has helped me a lot. I am still learning from you about Japanese maples. Have a good one and stay safe

Thanks for your video’s it is a source of great information I met you at Leeds many years ago and still have the acre’s I bought from you Thanks Peter

8:28 I thought Peter was a robot, the drill outside made a noise just when he moved :P I have same scorching problem, with a couple of trees and a whole forest :/

Ah ha, this is excellent to know. For clarification, would you also prune off leaves that are in the process of burning, or only ones that have gone completely crispy?

I was thinking about your nursery with this heat waves in Europe. Constant heat close to 40 and hot nights kill trees and plants not matter the watering. The same way that humans can died of heat exhaustion. You may need to have an area with spray tubing and shade for the maples. This spray it’s like mist but lower the temperature around. Sorry for your lost. I would be crying if they were mine.

Thank you for this.

During the hot summer months I use Happy Frog on my maples and other trees. They seem to appreciate it.

Hello Bonsai Breakfast Clubbers. Looks like a late one today… ❤️🌳☕️🥐🍽

Lialics leaves miniaturize like crazy in my experience

Here in Greece we have tha same problem with the acers. In te midle of the summer we have temperatures above 40 with moisture above 60% . This phenomenon is absolutely devastating for our plans in particular for some acers . We also have the phenomenon who some of acers are completely burned and by side the others are ok. I try to keep them oll in the shadow place and give them water every day but some times the only moisture burns the plans like boiled.

Thank you Peter I appreciate every video. Thank you

What thoughts do you have for people who have defoliated their trees this year already? Doing so would presumably have weakened the tree, so a second full defoliation is going to put the tree into an even deeper energy deficit in the run up to autumn. My little Deshojo lost most of it's leaves early in the year due to some very strong persistent winds drying them out. I was very careful to protect it from sun and wind when the heatwave hit and it has re-flushed and put out some great extensions, so it's doing really well. I'm just a little concerned for people who might not have been so lucky and who might now be considering doing something that could make it harder for their trees to survive the winter.

100.4°F

Thanks Peter my Japanese green Maple got cook last Month in the States now she has All new leaves and there were much Small . Is Spring time better for Thread Grafting?

stunning vid love the trees

Well still Sunday breakfast for some I’m sure. Talk about being left hanging though.

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹 thanks Peter

My acer campestre looked very sad over this summer. I was hoping for nice autumn colour but I think that won't happen this year. Mine was in a better state then the maples you featured in this video. But I've been chopping off dead leaves I see. Next year I'm growing in a much more shaded location. Checking this morning I can see a new crop of leaves growing

How do I tell the difference between burnt and completely dead?

Hi Peter. My Bonsai Cherry trees got all leaves scorched August 22 UK . Now March 23 they are fully healthy.

My bloodgood didn't do good this year. Entire tree has burnt leaves. previous 3+ years trees did fine in the summer. Edit: Do we HAVE to cut the scorched leaves off to get new leaves to grow?

Thank you

I live in Madrid, Spain and I have a Pseudolaix Amabilis bonsai that got burned because of the high heat of this summer (it was inside my home). Can I do a prunning like this? Should I keep it inside or outside? When should I do it? I hope I can get your advise. Thank you very much!!

Did this heat have any impact on your azaleas

Buying a Japanese Maple (in pot) for a south facing balcony was a gamble.. this heatwave left me with a deepfried maple. T_T

When is the absolute latest time of the year that maple bonsai can be defoliated??

Are any of those itoigawa junipers going to be available as starter material?

I have a ginseng ficus, the bottom of the truck rotted and I got all the dead and poured cut past on it. I've cut back on water but I wasnt watering all the time yet I did water more because I had it in straight sun sitting in my yard.

I have done this to a katsura of mine that was prob around 8 yrs old and it just died after leaf pruning . Im not sure y. Some of my maples couldnt even bounce back after pruning the leafs off and died. Im also having a problem with new leaf growth that comes out deformed and some leafs dont curl but it kinks like its bent in a direction. Any reason y this would happen peter?

I guessing this is self explanatory, but would we also do this on a burnt Korean Hornbeam?

thank you for this video !! my little maple bonsai suffered from sunburn on its leaves. it was so sad, i didnt know what to do. cutting the leaves is still a scary process 😞i hope this can save my tree ! i got a question for you. My tree is still very young. only 2-3 leaves are intact from the sun. Should i cut them anyway or i can leave them there ?

Allí en Inglaterra no estáis acostumbrados a esas temperaturas yo soy de Andalucía ( España ) donde ese problema de temperaturas las tenemos todos los años Mi opinión y lo que yo hago con mis arces es tenerlos siempre a la sombra y bien regados, si se queman las hojas no sé las quito, porque si se las quitas ,es. Como si le hicieras un de foliado, con lo cual como bien dices producen hojas nuevas, eso es un gasto de energía extra para el árbol, lo deja debilitado y como te a pasado a usted este año, no tendrá problemas, pero imagínese acerselo todos los años, sería matar al árbol, por lo que repito en mi clima dejamos las hojas quemadas Saludos

Watching from phillipines sir beautifull bonsai i need a job sir your bonsai garden❤️

Is there a point in the season when it is too late to leaf prune?

Que bueno si es en español grácias

I had to defoliate two young Japanese maples, it is still summer here in my neck of the woods. Should I provide extra sun to promote a new crop of leaves or more shade and some morning sun? I love the you tube channel!!!

Does this work with pines??

My maple is over a year ago and it has not got any taller do I need a big pot I am guessing

i will try your solution for mine mapple burn

I have some young maples of which I think I have over fertilised them. The leaves got burned by that. Can I still practice this leaf pruning or should I leave them alone? Thanks in advance!

happy early birthday

if we defoliate maples in autum wont it starve the plant, should we leave the half burnt leaves as they still generate energy for the tree

One hot day and a Yamadori spruce dropped all its needles. Other Yamadori right next to it were not affected, does not appear as if the roots dried out, and after weeks it looks like only one branch is dead. I cut it back, and even though its the =wrong time of year, attempted an emergency graft. The first graft failed, but it did look like it was getting water. Attempted a secind graft in a different location. Strange, it looks healthy except for no needles. Truly a beautiful tree its a tragedy. Im going to keep watering it and see if it buds again. I had one other Spruce that dropped nearly all its needles that did come back so...fingers crossed

Does it also aplly to other speecies as Beech, Elm etc.?

Good day im from South Africa.. I have bought a thorntree bonsai 2 weeks ago... we have watered it once a week.. left it outside on patio table for a week.. it's still in its nursary pot... it lost all its leaves... we are heading into autumn now.. but have experienced tremendous heat over the last few weeks.. its now inside our house... What can I do to revive it? 😀 any advice welcome. I have gently removed the leaves and left most of the leave stalks..

Trees are really suffering, even the ones in the ground are taking the heat and lack of rain badly. Maybe time to adapt to our changing climate. Thanks peter.

Leaf pruning in the middle of august?

Do I have to remove all leaves or only schroched ones? I have some helthy ones on my tree and don't know what to do with them?

My bonsai is with the leaves scorched a bit but not totally, should I remove all the leaves to fix aswell or just keep watering it ???

I alway thought taking all the leaves off tremendously stresses the tree and can be bad even potentially killing it? I guess this isn’t true?

What about Japanese beech (fagus crenata)? Did they suffered too? Mine has burnt the edge of the leaves even if I keep it under the shade net

what to do if only the tip of maple leaves got burnt?

Is it too late to leaf prune in PA? My trident is scorched but fall is around the corner

hey peter, how much are you selling the white pines for?