Advice for achieving an instant "Old Oak" look?
- Thread starter The Oak
- Start date
Johnathan
Omono
Boxwoods look like good "oak bonsai".... until you see a good oak bonsai 
But I agree. For what you're looking to achieve there are probably more desirable species than actual oaks
But I agree. For what you're looking to achieve there are probably more desirable species than actual oaks
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The Oak
Seedling
- Messages
- 9
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- 4
Lovely! Is this boxwood?
Johnathan
Omono
@The Oak this seems to be right what you're looking for.
www.bonsainut.com
EDIT: Sorry, I just realized it's for local pickup only.
Boxwood For Sale
I'm selling this Boxwood of mine. I was intending on selling it at the member's consignment sales area at this year's REBS Show (assuming there will be one) but thought I'd see if there was any interest on here first. It's been in development since 2011, so 10 years now. It's a nice tree but...
EDIT: Sorry, I just realized it's for local pickup only.
BobbyLane
Imperial Masterpiece
its a privet.
if you know what youre doing and what to look for, you can pick up a tree from a nursery or a field even and begin the styling process 'instantly' as Ryan demonstrates here and in many other videos. ive done it too. i prefer to do it and not just talk about it
if you know what youre doing and what to look for, you can pick up a tree from a nursery or a field even and begin the styling process 'instantly' as Ryan demonstrates here and in many other videos. ive done it too. i prefer to do it and not just talk about it
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
I just grabbed a Japanese cryptomeria that had been dug up by construction crews and dumped at the road as waste. If it had been summer, it would have been dead, but because it was winter I thought I had a 50% of saving it. Brought it home, potted it up, reduced the foliage by about 75%, and low and behold it is already pushing new buds. As a bonus - much easier when a back hoe is digging up your raw materialits a privet.
if you know what youre doing and what to look for, you can pick up a tree from a nursery or a field even and begin the styling process 'instantly' as Ryan demonstrates here and in many other videos. ive done it too. i prefer to do it and not just talk about it
Sekibonsai
Shohin
Boxwoods take time to put on mass but not to build foliage. If you can get larger trunks I would start there. Learn good horticulture and your trees will recover form your interventions much quicker.
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
Boxwoods can live in excess of 600 years, There are 200 year old boxwood in this country.
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
The leaf of a Chinese Elm looks more oakey than a boxwood leaf.
Aren't Oaks alternate too?
Lol...none of those trees look like Oaks to me! They just posted something about how different they are depending on their location.
Welcome to Crazy!
The safest way to anything quickly in bonsai is to adjust your expectations and exercise your imagination.
@HorseloverFat ....love the Mountain Analogy.
Too bad some asshat is still like....
"Drop him off, let him die".
Sorce
Aren't Oaks alternate too?
Lol...none of those trees look like Oaks to me! They just posted something about how different they are depending on their location.
Welcome to Crazy!
The safest way to anything quickly in bonsai is to adjust your expectations and exercise your imagination.
@HorseloverFat ....love the Mountain Analogy.
Too bad some asshat is still like....
"Drop him off, let him die".
Sorce
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
Blur your vision a bit.
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
BrianBay9
Masterpiece
Yes, boxwoods take time to set up primary branches and grow for girth. They are fast to ramify and fill in after that. The trick then, is to find a good trunk AND primary branches already well placed and the size you want. The time you'll spend on such a tree is in the looking for it, not the growing so much. And it will probably cost you more. I think somebody already said - time or money, you choose which to spend. I've not had problems keeping boxwood alive. Unlike BNUT, mine have not seemed particularly sensitive to root work.
I would also throw coast live oak into the mix for consideration, but I imagine they'd be hard to come by in Europe.
I would also throw coast live oak into the mix for consideration, but I imagine they'd be hard to come by in Europe.
JoeH
Omono
- Messages
- 1,090
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- USDA Zone
- 9B
Ilex schilling would be a good candidate too. They grow faster but board straight so lots of clip and grow.
misfit11
Omono
I humbly disagree with most all of this. Yes, you need to find an older specimen to get a trunk of any substantial size. This is why I suggest finding an old hedge. But after you have the trunk, building the primary, secondary, and tertiary branches is actually faster than any other species that I have experience with. I was showing mine a few years after digging them up (I haven't been able to do this with any other of my trees that is for sure). My Boxwoods put on tons of new growth every year. I have to do thinning and pruning twice a year to keep them in shape.
As far as their difficulty keeping them alive, this has not been my experience at all. I will admit that early on in the hobby I got a couple small Boxwoods from nurseries and killed them. I killed a lot of trees during this period though. But of all the trees that I dug up from my old hedge I haven't lost a single one and there were A LOT. I bare root them each time I repot and don't give the roots any special care. I treat them the same way I would treat a Maple or other deciduous tree. Their care is simple and they are pretty much bomb-proof in my opinion.
As far as their life span is concerned, I cannot really speak to that. However, the hedge that was in my front yard arguably was put there shortly after the house was built in 1966 given the size of the trunks and the rate at which they put on girth. That would place the trees around 55 years old. These trees have no indication that they are nearing the end of their lives. In fact, they are arguably stronger now than when I first dug them up. It's likely that a Boxwood being maintained under bonsai conditions (i.e. root pruning, foliar pruning, fertilizing, optimizing conditions) will far outlive it's wild brother. Besides, I'm not going to live 600 years, so why do I need my bonsai tree to? I just want it to live through my lifetime. Yes, the stories of trees in Japan being passed down from generation to generation are cool, but I'm not really counting on my boys to carry the torch for me. That would be a lot of pressure! Can you imagine if you killed your great great grandfather's prized bonsai? The shame!
misfit11
Omono
This seems more likely to me. I have never heard that Boxwoods are short-lived species.
HorseloverFat
Squarepants with Conkers
The Doors of Perception must REMAIN “squeaky clean”... however one must accomplish this!It's almost 9am!
Sorce
HorseloverFat
Squarepants with Conkers
Why has no one recommended “Acorn Collecting”?
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Trying to be at Zcorn I reckon!
Sorce
Sorce
Bagels
Sapling
I humbly disagree with most all of this. Yes, you need to find an older specimen to get a trunk of any substantial size. This is why I suggest finding an old hedge. But after you have the trunk, building the primary, secondary, and tertiary branches is actually faster than any other species that I have experience with. I was showing mine a few years after digging them up (I haven't been able to do this with any other of my trees that is for sure). My Boxwoods put on tons of new growth every year. I have to do thinning and pruning twice a year to keep them in shape.
As far as their difficulty keeping them alive, this has not been my experience at all. I will admit that early on in the hobby I got a couple small Boxwoods from nurseries and killed them. I killed a lot of trees during this period though. But of all the trees that I dug up from my old hedge I haven't lost a single one and there were A LOT. I bare root them each time I repot and don't give the roots any special care. I treat them the same way I would treat a Maple or other deciduous tree. Their care is simple and they are pretty much bomb-proof in my opinion.
As far as their life span is concerned, I cannot really speak to that. However, the hedge that was in my front yard arguably was put there shortly after the house was built in 1966 given the size of the trunks and the rate at which they put on girth. That would place the trees around 55 years old. These trees have no indication that they are nearing the end of their lives. In fact, they are arguably stronger now than when I first dug them up. It's likely that a Boxwood being maintained under bonsai conditions (i.e. root pruning, foliar pruning, fertilizing, optimizing conditions) will far outlive it's wild brother. Besides, I'm not going to live 600 years, so why do I need my bonsai tree to? I just want it to live through my lifetime. Yes, the stories of trees in Japan being passed down from generation to generation are cool, but I'm not really counting on my boys to carry the torch for me. That would be a lot of pressure! Can you imagine if you killed your great great grandfather's prized bonsai? The shame!
@Bonsai Nut I want to second what misfit11 said. I've seen a lot of amazing examples of boxwood in oak style. At least where I live, boxwoods had been planted all over the place as hedges for decades since at least the end of WWII if not earlier. There are many old hedges around with the trunks and some first branches that would make great oak style. Of course, the landowner might not always be down to let you dig but here, there are tons of potential boxwoods.
@The Oak since you are in Eastern Europe some other good examples I've seen are carpinus orientalis, phillyrea latifolia, and olives.
HorseloverFat
Squarepants with Conkers
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
