White oak question?

Hey guys! So I found this small White Oak in the woods last year. When I found it it had one set of leaves about 4-5 inches long. Now this spring it has finally sprouted 2 leaves but they look really small and don't seem to be growing. The other Oak trees around me all have full leaves now. Am I doing something wrong?

Perhaps night time lows are stunting it because it's in a pot? All those other (wild) oaks are insulated in the ground. Perhaps roots were damaged in a bad freeze this winter for the same reason or maybe during collection last year? Those would be my first assumptions

Is there anything I can do to help it survive? I had the pot burried in the ground all winter, should I put it back?

ForrestGump said:

Hey guys! So I found this small White Oak in the woods last year. When I found it it had one set of leaves about 4-5 inches long. Now this spring it has finally sprouted 2 leaves but they look really small and don't seem to be growing. The other Oak trees around me all have full leaves now. Am I doing something wrong?

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Yeah, you're working with a finicky species for bonsai.

White oak can make good bonsai, but it's a struggle. They tend to respond weirdly to bonsai practices. Most people who are serious about developing them into bonsai don't start with seedlings, They use established collected trees that have 3-10 inch diameter trunks. Oak bonsai really isn't worth the effort without a gnarled older looking trunk to start with. It will take literally decades to develop a seedling into anything worth working on.

rockm said:

Yeah, you're working with a finicky species for bonsai.

White oak can make good bonsai, but it's a struggle. They tend to respond weirdly to bonsai practices. Most people who are serious about developing them into bonsai don't start with seedlings, They use established collected trees that have 3-10 inch diameter trunks. Oak bonsai really isn't worth the effort without a gnarled older looking trunk to start with. It will take literally decades to develop a seedling into anything worth working on.

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Thanks for the response, I know this is a bonsai site lol but I have a lot of trees like this one that I don't really intend to use traditional bonsai methods on. It's more that I just like watching different species grow. I try to ad a few new species to my collection each year. This one in particular came from a friend's house, it was an acorn of a very old and special tree. I know I could go buy an established oak tree or a better species, but I would get much more joy watching this young seedling turn into an adult

ForrestGump said:

I just like watching different species grow .... This one in particular came from a friend's house, it was an acorn of a very old and special tree

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I have a whiteoak sapling of my own for the exact same reason. It appeared to be a natural, freak ground layering, sort of a mini-raft. The end has only just turned upward. I'm enjoying it, and may nudge it a bit over time, but mostly just want to keep it healthy yet small.

Rambles said:

I have a whiteoak sapling of my own for the exact same reason. It appeared to be a natural, freak ground layering, sort of a mini-raft. The end has only just turned upward. I'm enjoying it, and may nudge it a bit over time, but mostly just want to keep it healthy yet small.

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Do you come to Eugene Bonsai Club?

Potawatomi13 said:

Do you come to Eugene Bonsai Club?

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Sadly, no. I work evenings and sneaking out once a month to talk trees wouldn't go over well