my new japanese red maple bonsai

Hi guys! thanks for looking at this

Okay. so about a week ago my cousin bought me this gorgeous bonsai. From what i know... it is a japanese red maple "atropurpureum" and is a seedling from a "bloodsoak".The unfortunate situation is ..that i dont really know how to take care of this plant.. I've been researching this on the computer but i figured your expert advice and tips would be helpful since you have at least somewhat experience in this area.. click the link so you can see pictures of the plant.. Thanks so much!

Here is a link that might be useful: pictures of the bonsai

Hi - Absolutely the first thing you need to do is get it outdoors - for life - because it won't last a week inside. But put it in light shade vs full sun and somewhere that it won't get rained on beyond a light mist because until it's switched into proper bonsai 'grit' (fast draining stuff - more on it later) it'll drown in that goop it's in. Maples need to get dry almost all the way through the pot between waterings but it looks like yours is in potting soil - which is full of peat and acts like a one-way sponge (soaks it up but won't let it go and then roots rot). Your tree, in fact, will do light years better, and grow much faster - giving you lots more styling options for the future - if you plant it into the ground for 3 yrs. Sounds drastic to a newbie, but what you have now is not a bonsai but a stick in a pot. You want the trunk to thicken up and eventually you'll lop off the whole top half of the tree (not this year) and new smaller branches will grow in which, together with the fatter trunk will give the illusion of an old tree. There's a lot more to it, and you need to find out about the mix it should be in (but do NOT repot now as it's not at all a good time of year, so you'll have to be careful about watering - enough when you do do it, but only when it's needed (and water-loggedness can look just like dryness when leaves curl if you've already given it too much). Go to bonsai4me.com and start reading there plus most of the forums on bonsaisite.com for better input (more people).

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RE: my new japanese red maple bonsai

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