Show us your Oak (Quercus) Pre-Bonsai

[Hartinez]

Excited to see growth on 2 of the 4 gray oaks I collected recently. The other two also seem like they will push, so I’m not going to jinx it by posting them here! So here are the two that seem most alive!

a giant clump that was hell to dig!

another informal but elegant yet rugged trunk

 

[Big Country Bonsai]

What are trees 3 & 4 from top please?

I’ve been off bonsainut for a while . Those are Quercus buckleyi.

 

[Svenge]

these were from acorns that I picked up in Italy, and I haven’t looked for native oaks, figured if there were here you could buy saplings at shops and I’m yet to find some.
If there are natives they’re probably way up north where climate is more suitable and they’re out of typhoon territory

The list of Quercus spp. on Wikipedia lists 69 species native to China, many of which are in the south and down into Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.

 

[It's Kev]

The list of Quercus spp. on Wikipedia lists 69 species native to China, many of which are in the south and down into Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.

if I actually happen to cross one, you'll be first to know.

 

[LittleDingus]

Some of my "tiny oaks":

suber (cork oak)


2 years from acorn. Potted a few months ago. This is the view I should used as the front. I like the shari on the trunk base. It's budding out for the first time after being potted. It got shoved in a pot because I have ~20 more growing out in grow bags and I need to start downsizing!

virginiana (southern live oak)


Budding out after being shoved in a pot and chopped a few weeks ago. Roughly the same deal...~3 years from acorn and I have about a dozen of them continuing to grow out.

muehlenbergii (chinquapin oak)


Also shoved into a pot a few weeks ago I bought a forest pack of 25 yearlings from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Most got put into grow bags to grow out. This one got chopped back and shoved into a pot a couple of weeks ago too. I kept ~10 others and planted the rest in the "wild". I also have 7-8 sprouts from acorns I collected and planted next fall.

muehlenbergii (I think?? Still waiting on a positive id!)


This was collected late last fall. I ?think? it's chinquapin, but it was defoliated by the time I collected it. I should have a better idea in a few weeks as it's just starting to bud out now! I was pretty sure this one wasn't going to make it. It was mostly tap root and growing near the top of a rocky bluff. I got as deep and wide as I could...which wasn't very...so I didn't have very high hopes for this one. It's still got an uphill battle making it through our summer heat, I think.

gambelii (gambel oak)


Also ~2 years from acorn. Planted in October 2019 so really only its second growing season...though it's first growing season was long! Planted into a pot to encourage root suckers. It's a scrub oak...I'm trying to grow a thicket as they are often seen in nature.

bicolor (swamp oak)


Bought a few weeks ago from a local nursery. It's just starting to swell out new buds.

imbricaria (shingle oak)


Collected last fall. Because of where it was growing, the tap root was mostly lateral. The root ball is currently very awkward and barely fits in that bag This one was babied in the garage over winter to keep the roots warmer for (hopefully) a gentler recovery. It's vigorously budding out all over the place and looks very promising

 

[parhamr]

Well this Coast Live Oak hardened off all its new growth and it was getting hard to keep it watered so it was time for a hard prune



I’ll be further reducing those upper trunks in future years; I left them long here to continue the sap draw.

 

[Lutonian]

English Oak starting to extend.

2019 late spring/early summer I did heavy root work then let it grow for the rest of the year.

2020 the tree was left to grow buds were rubbed at the base of the tree when they appeared.

2021 the tree was cut back hard and will be left to grow and buds that appear in bad locations will be removed.

2022 might have to repot we will see

 

[Bagels]

Cork oak needs a few more years of pre-bonsai training

 

[JesusFreak]

Southern live oak

 

[John P.]

Cork oak needs a few more years of pre-bonsai training
View attachment 380392

Any idea how old this one is? Cork oaks are the perfect bonsai (for my zone).

 

[Potawatomi13]

Cork oak needs a few more years of pre-bonsai training
View attachment 380392

Delightful starter. No "stick in pot" this one.

 

[Bagels]

Any idea how old this one is? Cork oaks are the perfect bonsai (for my zone).

Around 12-13 years. I am excited for when the cork bark gets more widespread

 

[Marco B]

ok first post here. This is about Oaks. This is my Oak:
And here with leaves:

 

[atlarsenal]

ok first post here. This is about Oaks. This is my Oak:View attachment 380791
And here with leaves:
View attachment 380792

Coming in with a !!!

 

[BrianBay9]

ok first post here. This is about Oaks. This is my Oak:

That's a great tree. Which oak, and where (generally) are you located?

 

[Marco B]

That's a great tree. Which oak, and where (generally) are you located?

Thank you! And It will become better!
I'm from Holland, and this is a Quercus Pubescens.

 

[badatusernames]

Wow that's fantastic! I'd like to try an oak, one sprouted on the side of my yard and is a few feet now and I'm going to let it keep going... not sure if oaks in my area are any good for bonsai though, I feel like the leaves would remain too large.

Really great work.

 

[Marco B]

Wow that's fantastic! I'd like to try an oak, one sprouted on the side of my yard and is a few feet now and I'm going to let it keep going... not sure if oaks in my area are any good for bonsai though, I feel like the leaves would remain too large.

Really great work.

Thanks! What kind of Oak are you talking about? Leaves will become smaller when a bonsai is getting more developed as a bonsai.

 

[badatusernames]

Thanks! What kind of Oak are you talking about? Leaves will become smaller when a bonsai is getting more developed as a bonsai.

I believe it would be alba

 

[John P.]

ok first post here. This is about Oaks. This is my Oak:View attachment 380791
Nice one, there. Anyone else see a woman reaching to pick something up?