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I know there are a few nice escarpment live oaks in the bonsai world and I hope I can bring another nice tree into the mix. This tree is growing in a rough arid landscape with lots of juniper and red oak. These struggles have resulted in the live oaks in this area having smaller leaves. Hopefully it maintains the smaller leaves in pot culture. It’s trunk splits into two main leaders and I’m not sure if I will keep both or pick one to chop. If anyone has any tips on collection it appreciated.
 

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rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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Any input @rockm? Did your tree push larger leaves in cultivation?
My escarpment oak pushes BIG and small leaves, depending on the time of the growing season. Typically, I get a first flush of larger leaves, like 2" or so long, in the spring as the tree begins growing. As those leaves grow, shoots extend. I allow those to grow for a few weeks. I cut those back hard once the stems have hardened off and are woody. That pruning typically triggers a flush of smaller leaves and dense shoots. I cut those back during the summer after allowing them to grow.

The second flush can produce larger leaves at times. Cutting down on Nitrogen in the fertilizer can help keep extension growth shorter.

good luck getting that beast out of the ground. Gonna be a chore...If I were you, I'd look for something smaller to start with and get the hang out of how to collect them. They can be finicky at first. Need a lot of root and minimal barerooting.
 
Messages
244
Reaction score
384
Location
Abilene , Tx
USDA Zone
8a
My escarpment oak pushes BIG and small leaves, depending on the time of the growing season. Typically, I get a first flush of larger leaves, like 2" or so long, in the spring as the tree begins growing. As those leaves grow, shoots extend. I allow those to grow for a few weeks. I cut those back hard once the stems have hardened off and are woody. That pruning typically triggers a flush of smaller leaves and dense shoots. I cut those back during the summer after allowing them to grow.

The second flush can produce larger leaves at times. Cutting down on Nitrogen in the fertilizer can help keep extension growth shorter.

good luck getting that beast out of the ground. Gonna be a chore...If I were you, I'd look for something smaller to start with and get the hang out of how to collect them. They can be finicky at first. Need a lot of root and minimal barerooting.
Thanks for the input! Now I just need to find a smaller one with a little bit of movement!
 
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