Trident maple leaf out halted

Jluke33

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I repotted my little trident maple right before bud break and did a little root work so i could plant on a tile. Everything seemed to be going fine, buds started to push, and leaves came out. Its really warmed up in the last month or so. However for about two/three weeks now the leaves have been stalled out as you can see in the picture. Its still green under the trunk as of today, but am i SOL? What would everyone recommend to try and save it (if possible)
 

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Jluke33

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Patience.... full sun, feed and water
I was giving full sun and watering well, but today i felt the leaves and they were no longer velvety and soft but a lil crispy. So i moved to partial shade where it should get full morning sun until about 12pm. The crispy leaves were also what prompted me to check the trunk for green
 

Jluke33

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Just give it time... what kind of soil is it in?
Its in bonsai soil (bonsai jack organic mix) i think mostly pumice and bark chips. I also covered the top with sphagnum moss to help with moisture retention since its pretty hot outta nowhere
 

BonsaiGnome

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@Jluke33 I’m just down the road from you and our spring weather has been all over the place this year.
We had 88F today!

Tridents are pretty hardy; I think your tree will be just fine.
Patience is a virtue and well worth cultivating.

EDIT: y’all had some frost up there in the last week or two, yes?
 

Slippery Pete

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I agree, just be patient and the tree will come back strong...

If this were my tree, I would give it morning sun/evening sun but have it placed in the yard such that midday sun is not on it. Remember that buds swelling and leafing out is not definitive proof that the tree is capable of pushing out new growth. The buds set last growing season, whereas new growth takes ~4 gallons of diesel. Since we do not have an operational definition of "a little" in terms of your root pruning, it's hard to tell *what* the cause of the lackluster growth is - maybe it was the frost that this garden gnome above me was asking about. (which, If there was indeed frost, seems like that'll be all she wrote for this here investigation...) If however the plant is low on diesel fuel reserves, it needs to be given a chance to refuel before new growth will appear. In such a case it would behoove you to limit transpiration losses to give the plant a little relaxation.

At least, that is all my understanding in my learning up to this point. I am of the opinion that the "why this is happening" is a heck of a lot more important than the "will it survive." Take it or leave it, I'm just a dirty rotten plumber. I implore all who read this to correct me wherever needed.
 

leatherback

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I fine all my tridents to do this tbh. Leaf out, test the weather and then frustrate me for a month of just sitting there, seemingly uninterested in doing anything. Then you blink your eyes and there are 4 inches extension growth. Dunno what triggers them.
 

Jluke33

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@Jluke33 I’m just down the road from you and our spring weather has been all over the place this year.
We had 88F today!

Tridents are pretty hardy; I think your tree will be just fine.
Patience is a virtue and well worth cultivating.

EDIT: y’all had some frost up there in the last week or two, yes?
We did! Everything i have in pots i stored in a non-heated mini greenhouse (make shift out of windows and 2x4s) the two nights it frosted. Where abouts are you located?
 

Jluke33

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Pics?

How much root did you take off?

Looks deficient.

Sorce
I havent taken anything off actually....it was a starter plant I got right as fall hit last year from new world bonsai on etsy. it's about 1-1.5cm at widest point of trunk and about 6 inches tall, and the top of the trunk was clearly cut before it was sent to me.
 

sorce

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a non-heated mini greenhouse (

88F is definitely heated!

I find that a lot of folks only begin using these to solve "newb" issues and only create more problems for themselves.

Such a small "environment" is near impossible to keep at adequate conditions.

When we contain orcas and their dorsal fin flops, is the same thing you are witnessing. It's alive, but it's not happy in it's tiny environment.

Small Greenhouses have a Purpose, but if you follow the lineage, you could see where they began to be "marketed without care for appropriateness"

The leaves look like they are "hot as shit and too humid". Like it went from indoors to outdoors. These are greater problems than whatever the "need" for a greenhouse was for.

I reckon.

Sorce
 

Jluke33

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88F is definitely heated!

I find that a lot of folks only begin using these to solve "newb" issues and only create more problems for themselves.

Such a small "environment" is near impossible to keep at adequate conditions.

When we contain orcas and their dorsal fin flops, is the same thing you are witnessing. It's alive, but it's not happy in it's tiny environment.

Small Greenhouses have a Purpose, but if you follow the lineage, you could see where they began to be "marketed without care for appropriateness"

The leaves look like they are "hot as shit and too humid". Like it went from indoors to outdoors. These are greater problems than whatever the "need" for a greenhouse was for.

I reckon.

Sorce
88f was a different day lol. We had a two night frost where the high was mid 40s F and it got down to about 25F at night. I only had all my little potted trees in the little green house from about 8pm to 8am during the coldest points of the frost. SC weather fluctuats madly in transition from winter to spring and summer to fall

and I* wouldn't call it a greenhouse exactly.... it's four old house windows from ReStore jimmy rigged together with screws and 2x4s sitting on the groun next to my shed (in the shade) and a 5th window that i just set on top.


So yeah, majority of the time, save those two nights...the triden has been out on the benchs with mostly full sun all day, watering once sometimes twice a day depending on how hot it's been
 
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