Show us your Oak (Quercus) Pre-Bonsai

[Potawatomi13]

I’m also working on growing out some Quercus agrifolia seedlings. I obtained these as tiny plugs in early 2017 and slip-potted them in 1-gallon grow bags with coarse particles.
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The right one is growing so much stronger than the left; I may pass along the left tree at BSOP.

I had wanted to make a classic oak style tree from the right seedling. It might also do well as an informal upright. I have a lot of time to go on these

Were these Winter hardy past Winter?

 

[Tieball]

Definite twin or triple trunk possibilities here with Great foundation. If wanting to bend present trunks do soon before too stiff to bend. Suggestion based on too straight growth presently. Good beginner start.

That’s probably the root of my problem....not knowing what to bend, what to just chop off now and what to just grow and chop later. I’ve been searching. Good idea though...I had not considered a triple trunk....need to research that idea.

 

[parhamr]

Were these Winter hardy past Winter?

Yes! I had them on the ground, in sunlight, and tucked in amongst other trees. Of note, my previous yard was adjacent to a restaurant kitchen and the heat kept the winter mild.

This year I’ll keep them in the 8' x 16' greenhouse I just had delivered

 

[M. Frary]

This is English Oak,

I was looking at a couple today. The guy that owns the property I'm cutting has some in the ground. They have the smallest leaves I've ever seen on an oak.
He offered to give me one. They're in rootmaker bags.
Just how cold hardy are they? Hes in zone 5 and I'm in 4. Do you think they can take it Bobby?

 

[BobbyLane]

I was looking at a couple today. The guy that owns the property I'm cutting has some in the ground. They have the smallest leaves I've ever seen on an oak.
He offered to give me one. They're in rootmaker bags.
Just how cold hardy are they? Hes in zone 5 and I'm in 4. Do you think they can take it Bobby?

ive never collected an oak mate. theyre are native to UK and very cold hardy. i know Harry harrington collects them over the autumn period, so i think it would be ok. with correct aftercare, he has an article on the procedures. look forwards to seeing the material buddy

 

[petegreg]

They say minimum 5b, Mike. I guess in the ground. I'm in 6a and can't keep them successfully on my balcony, only mulched in a garden. Any measures you could take to protect trees with lower winter hardiness? You know, if I want something too much, I can do crazy things to achieve it. ?

 

[M. Frary]

Any measures you could take to protect trees with lower winter hardiness?

Maybe.
My sister has an unheated room in her house.
I've never looked at how warm or cold it gets in there.

look forwards to seeing the material buddy

They're pretty cool and from what I could see without getting on my hands and knees looked to be a little over 2" in diameter with low branching and movement.

 

[petegreg]

Next year I'll have to do something with this English oak, collected 2 years ago. The bark is quite nice, root system small and compact, few buds on the trunk, but that's all. Still thinking about air layering and chopping it to less than half of its trunk height.

 

[John P.]

These would probably qualify as pre-pre-bonsai ...

3 Coast Oaks on the left, 1 Cork Oak on the right:

 

[ihaveaspaceship]

Coast Live Oak from about 3 months ago.
Chopped back in Spring of this year.

 

[CasAH]

English oak this morning.

 

[Gustavo Martins]

English oak this morning.

Autumn or something else?

My oak is currently starting its 4th flush of growth this year

 

[Johnathan]

I've got about 3 oaks, I'll post them within a day of so, but I was wondering.... Are oaks even worth growing out? I think outside of pin oak, the rest are extremely slow growing correct?

 

[CasAH]

Autumn or something else?

My oak is currently starting its 4th flush of growth this year

Fall starting here.

 

[Potawatomi13]

I've got about 3 oaks, I'll post them within a day of so, but I was wondering.... Are oaks even worth growing out? I think outside of pin oak, the rest are extremely slow growing correct?

Not necessarily true. Some maybe, many first year after repot/root cutting. Consider many dwarf/cultivar species grown as Bonsai?

 

[Potawatomi13]

Not necessarily true. Some maybe, many first year after repot/root cutting. Consider many dwarf/cultivar species grown as Bonsai?

Addition please. Have Cork Oak, Oregon White Oak, Northern Red Oak growing out in pots. All have put on 15"- 2 foot sprouts in single year and second growth in single season. Can see obvious trunk growth from this. Got Sacrifice apex/sacrifice branch idea from this BN forum.

 

[Potawatomi13]

I had this one marked in my yard up develop in the ground, tree branch took out the top last year so I went ahead and collected it. Not sure of the species? White oak maybe, any help on identification would be appreciatedView attachment 208285View attachment 208286View attachment 208287

Tree is from red/black oak clan as has pointed lobes. White oaks are rounded/smooth. Sorry cannot ID actual species. Any nearby parent tree to ID from? Also can check tree map online if parent tree present IF tree is native.

 

[BonsaiNaga13]

Got a pin oak seedling a few months old I collected from my yard mid spring or early summerish, pruned the tap root an put it in some bonsai soil, it didn't seem to stunt the growing any. Think I'm gonna up pot it next year and leave it for a while but eventually I'm gonna probably put it in the ground on a tile to grow out

 

[BrianBay9]

I've got about 3 oaks, I'll post them within a day of so, but I was wondering.... Are oaks even worth growing out? I think outside of pin oak, the rest are extremely slow growing correct?

Think about some different oaks. I'm working on shohin sized oaks and I think I'll have something credible in about 3 yrs. Cork oak and Q agrifolia grow strong and fast when young, and you can buy them pretty cheap with trunk diameters ready for shohin or somewhat larger. Here I can grow new limbs from scratch, and get three to four rounds of cutting back for development each year. In OK you might get two to three. You'd have to protect them through your winter.

 

[rockm]

I've got about 3 oaks, I'll post them within a day of so, but I was wondering.... Are oaks even worth growing out? I think outside of pin oak, the rest are extremely slow growing correct?

Not slow growing, but to have any of that unique oak "heft" it's better to start with substantial collected trunks if you want a decent bonsai within three decades, especially in terms of the bark quality and branch character.

If you're in Oklahoma, I would stay away from California oaks. There are vastly better local native oaks that are superior in you climate (and in character). Quercus fusiformis (escarpment live oak), willow oak, water oak to name a few. I have a fusiformis. It's cold hardy (Zone 6a-in ground) and fast growing here in Va. It's native in Oklahoma and you can probably find one easily at a nursery.