Advice for achieving an instant "Old Oak" look?

[Sekibonsai]

nm

 

[Sekibonsai]

The other good candidate is yaupon holly. Esp. Schillings, a dwarf variant...

 

[Sekibonsai]

A few of the live oak images from the Deep South

 

[penumbra]

This seems more likely to me. I have never heard that Boxwoods are short-lived species.

A decent search on the subject (which I have not done) should get to the heart of the matter. My experience with old boxwood in the states comes from first hand experience and my knowledge of ancient boxwood in the UK or Europe has been passed on to me but was verified in my readings in pre-computer days.
About 45 years ago I worked for a well known nursery in NO VA. One landscape job in Old Town Alexandria gave witness to boxwood that were said to be about 200 years old at the time. One that was removed (a crime I think) did give evidence of growth rings to support it. Its been too many years since this time for me to remember all of the details but it encouraged me to do a little research that provide the over 600 year data.
Years later my parents owned an old estate in Markham Virginia called Locust Hill. John Marshall lived there when he was a young man practicing law. The original house and foundation predated the Revolutionary War, and most of the house was added on about 1820-1850. It had all the old stone buildings and some were in decay, especially the Ice House. The Smoke House and the Kitchen Building were in excellent condition and slave quarters collapsed. It was such a fabulous place and my Wife & I lived there two years. There were two ancient boxwood that bordered a path to the garden. They had experienced much damage from falling tree branches and ice storms over the years. A branch I prunned from one of the boxwoods had over 80 rings and this branch was about 3 to 4 feet from the ground. I apologize for going on so but it was such a magical place to awaken to each day.

 

[Shibui]

The original post asked for suggestions of species that could be used to create this style as quick as possible. The thread seems to have got bogged down in the merits of buxus.

It appears the 'oak' style may be what many members on this site have been promoting as 'natural' or 'informal broom' with a strong trunk, good nebari, larger upward branches an an umbrella shaped canopy.

Just looking at the original photos will give some answers to the original question.
Trident maple is represented. It can be styled in almost any shape and is relatively quick to row and develop branching.
One of the photos is Chinese elm. Natural elm growth habit is with large upright branches and an umbrella crown which are probably both attributes the OP is seeking as 'oak style'? Chinese elm is hardy and reasonably quick growing so should suit.

I can't make out the other species in those small photos. Are there any other suggestions of species suitable for Eastern Europe that are relatively quick growing and hardy and might suit this upright 'informal broom' or 'natural' style?

 

[HorseloverFat]

I believe, going back to “baseline”, that @penumbra suggesting Cotoneaster was an apt proposal for a few reasons..

They can easily resemble this ancient oak style.. except already at a “scaled-down” starting point..

They grow quick ..to feed into the impatient aspect of “instant”.

 

[misfit11]

The original post asked for suggestions of species that could be used to create this style as quick as possible. The thread seems to have got bogged down in the merits of buxus.

It appears the 'oak' style may be what many members on this site have been promoting as 'natural' or 'informal broom' with a strong trunk, good nebari, larger upward branches an an umbrella shaped canopy.

Just looking at the original photos will give some answers to the original question.
Trident maple is represented. It can be styled in almost any shape and is relatively quick to row and develop branching.
One of the photos is Chinese elm. Natural elm growth habit is with large upright branches and an umbrella crown which are probably both attributes the OP is seeking as 'oak style'? Chinese elm is hardy and reasonably quick growing so should suit.

I can't make out the other species in those small photos. Are there any other suggestions of species suitable for Eastern Europe that are relatively quick growing and hardy and might suit this upright 'informal broom' or 'natural' style?

Agreed. Chinese Elm could be a great candidate esp. for a beginner. They are very forgiving and could be style as "Oak Style".

 

[Paradox]

Now, thing is that I don't want to wait long years for the trunk to become thick, lol.
So how do I approach this then?

Start with accepting the fact that bonsai is a marathon, not a sprint. There is no instant ancient looking bonsai unless you are willing and able to spend a lot of money. If you dont have the money then you must have patience or will find the bonsai hobby to be very disappointing.

 

[BobbyLane]

Valley Oak sounds like a pretty cool species. Problem is that I live in Eastern Europe and don't have access to it. Guess regular European oak would do the trick too.
Will go on a yamadori hunt soon.

so being in Eastern europe, are you not familiar with https://meledabonsai.com/
or Sandevbonsai, Marosbonsai? or Walter pall i mentioned earlier? they do natural looking trees and none of them are boxwoods
if not, then you need to do some research.

have you heard of hornbeam? oriental hornbeam?

put your location in the bio.

 

[JoeH]

One of my Ilex. Looks kinda Oaky

 

[penumbra]

View attachment 369167
One of my Ilex. Looks kinda Oaky

Good potential

 

[JoeH]

Good potential

It was mostly styled by students and security at a local college. Carts and foot traffic are great for shaping bonsai.

 

[Drewski]

The OP Hasn’t been around in a month, but just in case he pops back up I’ll offer up this boxwood. Just picked it up today and cleaned out a few branches that woul have been removed when it gets styled. I think it has an oak vibe to it.

 

[PaulH]

of all the tree species out there, which one would give me the "Old Oak" look the fastest?

Definitely boxwood. They grow rapidly and backbud well. You can make a good looking tree in a couple of years from a collected stump. The exception is Kingsville boxwood which is very slow growing.