Considering Quitting Bonsai...

I would recommend start getting some species that are not as prone to disease as a Japanese maple. Some examples would be kishu juniper, or Japanese black pine. These both good beginner plants that tolerate full sun well and while they can get fungal infections they are much less prone than a Japanese maple in my experience. Also if you like maples, trident maples are generally much tougher and less finicky than Japanese maples. Best of luck.
I've actually considered switching more towards confinerous trees as (at least with my limited knowledge and general feel) they seem to not have the sensitivities that seemingly all the deciduous species I have, have? Is this a bad assumption to make?

I also am kind of thinking I'll like the evergreen look year round more. I initially jumped towards maples because of their spring and fall colors, but I'm sure a lot people who are new do this. Now that I'm 2 years in, I think my tastes have changed a bit.

I actually only have a dwarf alberta spruce and a bald cypress for conifers. And the bald cypress is a mix essentially so I really have just 1 conifer.

I want to get some junipers, pines and hinoki cypress. Any other recommendations for conifers?
 
I'm coming up on 2 years of bonsai at then end of August here.

Today I've made a gut wrenching discovery that I think is the answer to all of my "sun burn" or fungus theories over the past two years. Trees and plants in my neighbors' yards seem to be fungus infested. Like every leaf, covered.

The few months that remained in 2023 when I started were good and the few trees I had were essentially losing their leaves about a month after obtaining them so I never noticed anything from the start. Then with the start of the new growth in spring 2024 through the entire year I was dealing with what I suspected to be fungus issues with all of my trees. Tried a bunch of different sprays that didn't seem to help out. Symptoms were browning on the leaves and blackened tips sometimes.

I decided to stick out the year and then see if once spring 2025 came, maybe after a full growing season the trees would be a lot stronger.

In comes spring 2025 and I opted to not repot anything just so I could rule out root work being a cause (in spring 2024 I basically repotted all the trees I have). Started off strong, but as of about a month ago, I'm having the same issues again. I've taken the infected trees out of full sun now for a month to see if that helped any and it seems new growth still gets affected.

Today, for whatever reason it dawned upon me to check the trees around the edge of my yard that are in my neighbors' yards to see if they have any possible "sun burn" issues. Not sure why I never thought of this in the previous 2 years until now. This is when I discovered the following on essentially every leaf I could see in the two trees closest to my yard. My trees look more like the middle picture rather than the darker fungus in the 1st and 3rd pictures.

This now has me feeling very defeated and I almost feel like giving up since I don't see any way to be able to fully control the issue and on top of that any new trees I get will just seemingly become infected as well.

Any thoughts/suggestions?
There are many very successful bonsai enthusiasts in Pennsylvania. It may be worthwhile to consider your approach and describe what you are doing for regular care practices. I am surprised that the focus of questions has not been on soil mix used, watering routines and other basic patterns of care. They seem to be missing from this discussion.
 
Here are a few photos of some of my maple leaves:
Yes your maples have some fungals (the brown spotty parts).

but also sunburn (discoloration on the first leaf) and nutrient deficiencies (obvious in second leaf). So there is a lot more going on. Fixing general care will typically fix 99% of the fungal issues, the rest of which can be individually treated when / if needed.
This year seems to have brought some uncharacteristic weather in most of the USA, which is a contributing factor to struggling trees.
 
yup,its seems a bit of everything….water ,minerals,sun……

Can try Siberian Elm.
Here is one ….they mature extremely fast.

Although in my opinion ,they need all the sun you can give….definately 5 or more hours direct sunshine.

Just in case you want to see an example.


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In the words of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "Don't Panic!"

You have to assume fungus spores are everywhere, for the most part, and that they are only looking for an opportunity to grow. That opportunity is usually increased by high humidity, rain - particularly rain that sits on the leaves for days, shade/lack of sunlight, and species. If you irrigate, it can also be triggered by over-irrigation, irrigating your foliage too much, or aspects of your water chemistry.

The easiest thing to do is relocate your bonsai benches so they don't stay so wet. Don't place them under tree canopies - particularly if you know those landscape trees have fungus. When you water, try to water the soil only, and do not water the foliage. Make sure you aren't stacking your trees too closely so that they don't get air/wind. Yes, you can treat chemically - and usually it is enough to treat in the spring when the foliage is young and tender, because once the foliage hardens it is much more resistant to fungus. Systemic fungicides are easiest, but you can also use a rotation of several topical fungicides that will tend to alleviate problems for the season (I use a treatment of Heritage, Clearys 3336 and Mancozeb - 7 days apart - once each spring as buds were swelling).

Additionally, consider species that are more fungus resistant. Conifers tend to be (depending on the fungus) and deciduous trees that have thicker leaf cuticles will be. Chinese elms are so strong that even if they get fungus, they tend to outgrow it. Ficus, silverberries, olives, live oaks, azaleas, camellias, gardenias, hollies, black gums... the list is quite long.

Also note - many trees that get fungus in the spring will not get it in the summer once temps warm, the sun comes out, and rain becomes less frequent. Trees like Japanese maples can be defoliated, sprayed, and the new push of foliage will be fungus-free.

Fungus tends to be an annoyance, and doesn't often kill a tree, though it looks bad. Treat the cause of the fungus, and not the symptoms.
 
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In the words of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "Don't Panic!"

You have to assume fungus spores are everywhere, for the most part, and that they are only looking for an opportunity to grow. That opportunity is usually increased by high humidity, rain - particularly rain that sits on the leaves for days, shade/lack of sunlight, and species. If you irrigate, it can also be triggered by over-irrigation, irrigating your foliage too much, or aspects of your water chemistry.

The easiest thing to do is relocate your bonsai benches so they don't stay so wet. Don't place them under tree canopies - particularly if you know those landscape trees have fungus. When you water, try to water the soil only, and do not water the foliage. Make sure you aren't stacking your trees too closely so that they don't get air/wind. Yes, you can treat chemically - and usually it is enough to treat in the spring when the foliage is young and tender, because once the foliage hardens it is much more resistant to fungus. Systemic fungicides are easiest, but you can also use a rotation of several topical fungicides that will tend to alleviate problems for the season (I use a treatment of Heritage, Clearys 3336 and Mancozeb - 7 days apart - once each spring as buds were swelling).

Additionally, consider species that are more fungus resistant. Conifers tend to be (depending on the fungus) and deciduous trees that have thicker leaf cuticles will be. Chinese elms are so strong that even if they get fungus, they tend to outgrow it. Ficus, silverberries, olives, live oaks, azaleas, camellias, gardenias, hollies, black gums... the list is quite long.

Also note - many trees that get fungus in the spring will not get it in the summer once temps warm, the sun comes out, and rain becomes less frequent. Trees like Japanese maples can be defoliated, sprayed, and the new push of foliage will be fungus-free.

Fungus tends to be an annoyance, and doesn't often kill a tree, though it looks bad. Treat the cause of the fungus, and not the symptoms.
I think my plan of action at this point is going to be to try out the Bonide Infuse for the rest of the growing season and keep water off the leaves when watering and then probably apply at the beginning of next spring as well.

Then based on if I am still seeing issues next season, I will likely experiment with a reverse osmosis system to use better water.

As far as watering goes, I water daily and check soil wetness etc. So I don't think that the actual water availability is the issue, but it certainly could be the pH, EC, etc...

I believe the last time I checked the pH it was around 7-7.5. Can't remember specifically. So, not ideal certainly. Going to re-check today.
 
Just tested... it's at 7.8 😖

I also tested some bottled distilled water that I have and it's also at 7.8 though. Does that make sense? Is pH level separate from whether or not water is distilled?
 
Just tested... it's at 7.8 😖

I also tested some bottled distilled water that I have and it's also at 7.8 though. Does that make sense? Is pH level separate from whether or not water is distilled?
Pure distilled water should have a pH of 7 around 20 degrees C.
If you raise the temperature, the pH measured tends to drop a little.
Collected rainwater can range from 4.5-6 so a couple rain barrels doesn't hurt.

7.8 is normal for potable water.
 
I also tested some bottled distilled water that I have and it's also at 7.8 though. Does that make sense? Is pH level separate from whether or not water is distilled?
That should not be for Distilled water. Get a good API PH test kit.. Not the strips but the liquid drop test.
Distilled water can also read in the 6's.. Some that I buy is 6.5 PH due to carbon dioxide getting in the water.
The PH out of my tap is >8.5 but if you place and air stone in it for a couple day it drops to 6.8 due to the city adding stuff so raise to PH to keep pipes from corroding.
PH is only an indicator of Carbonates and an easy way to check for them, mine are low <1 and my General Hardness is ~4. You can lower PH with a very small amount of white Vinegar, drops maybe.
I don't bother to do anything to mine, except for Aquarium use, because of the low carbonates the PH out of the tape doesn't seem to be an issue.
 
If you haven’t thought about quitting bonsai, you ain’t doing bonsai. Rub some dirt on it and get back in there😂…using species that do well where you live. DAS are not good, JBP are not easy beginner trees, but elms, maples and Shimpaku junipers are typically forgiving.
 
If you haven’t thought about quitting bonsai, you ain’t doing bonsai.
MAN! If that's not the absolute truth! I had a bit of an existential crisis after a tough summer last year. I'm crawling my way back with several fewer nice trees. Somehow its reassuring knowing I'm not the only one. (Different circumstances for everyone, I'm sure.)
 
If you haven’t thought about quitting bonsai, you ain’t doing bonsai. Rub some dirt on it and get back in there😂…using species that do well where you live. DAS are not good, JBP are not easy beginner trees, but elms, maples and Shimpaku junipers are typically forgiving.
Sounds like I'm doing bonsai then! 😂

That's encouraging.

I've some plans to obtain some more elm, junipers, and pines. I have enough maples for now and they're giving me nothing but problems. Oddly enough, my dwarf alberta spruce hasn't given me any issues in 2 years.
 
Sounds like I'm doing bonsai then! 😂

That's encouraging.

I've some plans to obtain some more elm, junipers, and pines. I have enough maples for now and they're giving me nothing but problems. Oddly enough, my dwarf alberta spruce hasn't given me any issues in 2 years.
Last year, @Fidur's trees had major issues with some disease. He seemed like he was about to throw in the towel as well, but he stuck with it and his garden/trees are looking great now.
 
Juniper and pine are great to work with. I have the most difficulty with my maples. Chinese Elms are great to work with too!
 
I also tested some bottled distilled water that I have and it's also at 7.8 though. Does that make sense? Is pH level separate from whether or not water is distilled?

Distilled water should be completely neutral, and have a pH of 7.0 at room temp. If you have mains/municipal water, they tend to adjust the pH to make it slightly alkaline so that it doesn't corrode water infrastructure. "Slightly alkaline" being 7.5-8.0 pH. If you live in the SW US, with crappy water that is high in calcium and sodium (being close to the Pacific) it may be higher. My water out of the tap in SoCal was 8.5 pH, which more or less caused instant stress to acid-loving plants like Japanese maples, azaleas, camellias, gardenias, etc.

Living in NC, I have a well with decent water - relatively soft - and with a pH out of the ground of 6.8.
 
If you haven’t thought about quitting bonsai, you ain’t doing bonsai. Rub some dirt on it and get back in there😂…using species that do well where you live. DAS are not good, JBP are not easy beginner trees, but elms, maples and Shimpaku junipers are typically forgiving.
Yup. Anyone who gets into bonsai because it’s peaceful and simple and eases your mind hasn’t done bonsai. It’s sometimes violent (creating a Jin or chopping topping a twenty foot tree to three) it’s peaceful once in a while. Primarily in the summer when it’s too hot to grow or move. It NEVER ease your mind (or net/net it doesn’t). There is always something weighing on you about a tree —this is multiplied if your have more than one

And simple? Fahgeddaboud it. It’s complicated from it structure to its meaning to the person doing it

Kill a few trees.? Quit? Nah. Because ultimately it gives back in ways you don’t always get immediately. It shows you nature is not simple and isn’t kind (although it can be). It makes you see the world a bit differently and understand nature and it workings.
 
AND BE REMINDED….TO GROW BONSAI FROM SEEDLINGS AND CUTTINGS IS TO LEARN TO ENJOY THE PASSAGE OF TIME!!!
🙂👨🏼‍🌾☔🌈🪴
SEEDLINGS CAN BE A VERY QUICK AND EFFICIENT HORTICULURAL LEARNING DEVICE…..
Siberian elm seeds!!
 
Agree on the city water. Mine is like 8.5 and was between 500-850 ppm mineral content. Some trees didn’t mind but maples did not like it. I now Collect rain water to use
 
When i first started, back around 1991 or so, I could not keep a juniper alive. I still have my Larch forest and Mugo Pines from then though.
Brazilian Rain trees, a tropical, are almost bullet proof, in 30 yrs or so I haven't found any pest that like them or diseases yet, I even gave one to the guy next door who forgot it outside in 30 f temps and it still survived, with minor damage. They grow fast, bud back well and when the trunk and branches are small enough they can be bent and twisted and can handle serious root pruning.
 
I'll order some now.

I'm still feeling a bit hopeless, but maybe this will help. Do you apply monthly through the growing season?

I live in a fungus prone area.

I use infuse in the spring when the trees start to bud out and then again usually in July.
In your case since you know you have a problem from the neighboring property, I would apply it every other month to every 3rd month while the trees still have leaves.
Stop when they turn colors in the fall
 
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