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Hey all,
So i recently purchased my first bonsai, a trident maple. I did some research and somehow got the idea that doing both a root prune/repot and a defoliation at the same time was a good idea:/ I realize now after doing some more research that this was a bad idea. My question is: does this mean certain death for my tree? If not how long should I expect to wait before seeing new growth? Also, what conditions should I keep the tree in and for how long? As of now I am keeping it in the shade at about 65-75 F and watering with bonsai pro 7 9 5 water mix (for those of you not familiar with this fertilizer it is a very dilute mix that is recommended for use on every watering). Your help is appreciated.

STOP fertilizing the tree. If it's not dead from all the stress of defoliation and root pruning it will be if you keep fertilizing. Only fertilize a tree while in active growth.
If the tree was otherwise in good health before all the work it might survive. You need to leave this tree alone for the rest of the year if it lives. Reduce the amount of water you give it until you see new growth.
Leave it in the shade for a few weeks and slowly increase the amount of sun it gets over a few more weeks. If it's spring where you live you should see growth in a few weeks.
I would really like to know where you read that it's okay to defoliate and root prune at the same time!! One of the first things I learned is that there is so much misinformation about bonsai out there.
Good luck. Keep us posted.

Thanks for the reply and advice,
I completely agree with there being alot of misinformation out there, I dont think I read both on the same site but just read that root pruning is a good idea if the tree is pot bound and has never been root pruned before and then also read that defoliation reduces the strain on the root system which i now realize is backwards. I cant seem to find the site I read it off though:/

Can you post a few pictures of the tree?

sure thing

It looks like it's starting to bud again. Leave it for a year and let it recover.

those are actually just the leftovers from the old leaves:/ I think I see one or two areas where small buds are starting to form. I am crossing my fingers!

well keep us informed.
again, good luck.

will do, thanks again for the help!

eolson wrote: I completely agree with there being alot of misinformation out there, I dont think I read both on the same site but just read that root pruning is a good idea if the tree is pot bound and has never been root pruned before and then also read that defoliation reduces the strain on the root system which i now realize is backwards. I cant seem to find the site I read it off though:/

Hm.. Just my erperience from growing plants and moving them about for the past, dunno, 25 years.. Whenever you do serious work on roots while the plant is in full flush (So: Green) you need to remove a part of the foliage, as the damaged root system is not capable of supporting the full canopy. I rtypically do this by either trimming the tree a few days beforehand, or clipping most of the leaves of. This does not kill the plant, if you have a healthy tree. Indeed, it helps speedy recovery.

Watering a plant with fertilizer does not kill the tree either. Especially when in bonsai soil & the very diluted mixtures used for bonsai. However, if the roots are trimmed, you loose a lot of fine roots, and typically the uptake will be very low: There is no need to add fertilizer.