Show us your Oak (Quercus) Pre-Bonsai

[BonsaiNaga13]

Pin oak i dug out of the yard and put in this pot about 2 years ago. It was around 6 or 7 feet i chopped it back to about 3 feet. Just letting it grow to regain vigor for now. Might try a trunk chop to wore some movement in later

 

[tangledtanuki]

Oaks collected ealry this year. Seemed to have woken up nicely. I'd love any feedback although this year just going to leave them to get nice and strong this year.


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They pulled through the summer.

 

[Farwest]

Hello,
Don’t want to derail this thread, but just wanted to give everybody a head’s up that both Schumacher and Sheffields have this years quercus suber (cork oak) acorns in stock now.

 

[BonsaiNaga13]

Hello,
Don’t want to derail this thread, but just wanted to give everybody a head’s up that both Schumacher and Sheffields have this years quercus suber (cork oak) acorns in stock now.

I'm sure the collective thanks you

 

[johnbaz]

Hi
This was a much thicker and taller tree that I collected with forestry permission granted to our club, It was an instant Bonsai as it was next to a rough path that was kept clear by machine and so was lopped small a couple of times per year then left to grow a little, Unfortunately it didn't like being moved and died back to the soil (It was planted in to a deeper mica pot) , I thought it was dead so it ended up with several other 'Beyond hope' trees that were all watered even though they would not make Bonsai..
It went for roughly two years with no foliage but then buds started appearing en mass so I rubbed most off and kept just two but even now they're only as thick as pencils, I should have repotted in to a deeper pot!!

There wasn't very much rootage when I repotted it and really didn't think it would survive but it defied my thoughts and came out ok!!

Here's another one that died back some, It was a whip type of plant, I wired it for a littlew shape, I think last year..

This was the tree in 2012, Not really changed that much or grown in ten years!!

This was taken in 2017.

John

 

[SWfloirda]

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Repotted today. Laurel Oak

 

[WWB-Walter]

I really love oaks and I hope to create a few decent bonsai in the coming years. I have several seedlings from acorns collected locally, but the few that I have that are at the pre-bonsai stage have been purchased in the past year from various sources. The one exception to this is my live oak that I grew from seed sprouted in 2006. This tree, which has a dedicated thread, is residing in Fl under my dad's care.

English Oak:

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Two other English oaks (Quercus robur):

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Scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea) with massive leaves. It remains to be seen if these can be reduced for a somewhat convincing large bonsai:

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Closeup of scarlet oak trunk:
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White oak (Quercus alba), purchased last month:

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Closeup of trunk, the base looks better in person:

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Lets see more oaks!

OK - see more OAKS - I've got a few ...
Different seasonal pics ...

 

[JackHammer]

This is my oak. I dug it about 12 months ago. I started to grow it in a broom but I think it will actually be much better trunk movement if I chop the top again on the straight part and grow out the buds that are lower on the trunk. Feedback welcome...

Broom style:

Trunk line that I think I need to develop:

I lost that 1st branch which was too bad. I am hoping another one will come in that spot.
This is still in mostly the original dirt. I will replace it slowly. I will probably do a full repot next spring.

 

[Gabler]

It looks like it didn’t heal right at previous chops. I’d cut back to just above the bulge and let the current lowest branch grow as a leader. Next year, cut back all the way to that branch and leave a very slight hollow so the wound swells inward not outward as it heals.

 

[JackHammer]

It looks like it didn’t heal right at previous chops. I’d cut back to just above the bulge and let the current lowest branch grow as a leader. Next year, cut back all the way to that branch and leave a very slight hollow so the wound swells inward not outward as it heals.

This is good advice and I might end up going this direction. Naturally, i want to save any progress I can. Why not carve out the bulge to re-heal and chop that straight section?

 

[Gabler]

This is good advice and I might end up going this direction. Naturally, i want to save any progress I can. Why not carve out the bulge to re-heal and chop that straight section?

You might be able to, but based on the pictures, it already looks swollen there, so I don’t know if carving it out is realistic.

I try to avoid carving, except to slightly hollow out big chops on certain species that are prone to swelling. If the goal is to heal a wound, I try to cut so as to avoid the need for significant carving, so the wound heals faster. If instead the goal is to create deadwood, carving makes it look artificial, even for the world’s best woodcarvers. I’m definitely not the best woodcarver, so if it’s bad for them, it’s a terrible idea for me.

 

[Alcam]

Purchased this English oak in December 2021


After a great growing season last year, I've dug down to see the trunk and removed some higher up roots, as well as taken off the top and chosen the primary structure (the hummingbirds love it).

 

[JesusFreak]

 

[SWfloirda]

Repotted today. Laurel Oak
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Repotted today. Laurel Oak
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Three weeks later......

 

[dprm]

Quercus suber I bought for 25 bucks. I expect a very gnarly root ball and a very difficult repot (several repots throughout the years actually).

 

[Aaron the Great]

Quercus suber I bought for 25 bucks. I expect a very gnarly root ball and a very difficult repot (several repots throughout the years actually).

Beautiful

 

[dprm]

Beautiful

Thank you Aaron.

I repoted the tree in a flat oversized pot. The taproot was gnarly but the fine root system was rotten because of the extremely poor soil conditions. I used 3 parts sifted perlite and 1 part small pine bark. I wish I had done it a lot sooner but the weather is cooler (20 Celsius) and it’s been raining so I might just pull off a very poorly timed repot.

I’ll post better pictures tomorrow

 

[dprm]

Thank you Aaron.

I repoted the tree in a flat oversized pot. The taproot was gnarly but the fine root system was rotten because of the extremely poor soil conditions. I used 3 parts sifted perlite and 1 part small pine bark. I wish I had done it a lot sooner but the weather is cooler (20 Celsius) and it’s been raining so I might just pull off a very poorly timed repot.

I’ll post better pictures tomorrow

This might actually become the back of the tree and the longest branch to the left will be the new leader


This will become the front. I can't show the nice movement it has because a good portion of the trunk is under the soil. The straight trunk, above the red line, is too straight and full of deep scars
so it's coming off as soon as the tree is vigorous enough. Plus the grotesque corked roots will be hidden if I choose this front

 

[BrianBay9]

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This might actually become the back of the tree and the longest branch to the left will be the new leader

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This will become the front. I can't show the nice movement it has because a good portion of the trunk is under the soil. The straight trunk, above the red line, is too straight and full of deep scars
so it's coming off as soon as the tree is vigorous enough. Plus the grotesque corked roots will be hidden if I choose this front

Nice to see a suber with some bend to it. Just a caution - they usually don't cork up the portion of a trunk that's below soil line. If grown that way for a while you'll see a reverse taper for a few years if you moving the soil line down.

 

[Joe Dupre']

Live oak started from acorn from a 100 year old live oak in my yard. The crazy base is just how it came out of the soil. It needs to sprout more branches, which it does with annoying irregularity.