Deciduous Oaks in Nature

[timhanson81]

I love Oaks. Red, Black, White or Blue, I can't really think of an Oak species that I don't like. Each winter, I spend a lot of time admiring the branch structure of the deciduous Oaks in my area. Because they are what I have grown up seeing, these trees epitomize the look of a deciduous tree to me and I've been trying to incorporate some of their attributes into bonsai I am developing. Following up on the discussion of deciduous branch structure, I though it might be nice to have some Oak specific examples.

Big, old Valley Oak (Quercus lobata)


Ground-layered branches



Gnarly branches


Valley Oak

 

[small trees]

I have a couple that you would like to see. One of them has a trunk that has to be close to 8 feet in diameter, although the top was struck by lightning or something. The other grows right outside my house and is about a perfect oak specimen. The trunk is about 5 feet in diameter, the tree maybe 60-70 feet tall, and a perfect, rounded, ramified canopy.

 

[nathanbs]

I have a couple that you would like to see. One of them has a trunk that has to be close to 8 feet in diameter, although the top was struck by lightning or something. The other grows right outside my house and is about a perfect oak specimen. The trunk is about 5 feet in diameter, the tree maybe 60-70 feet tall, and a perfect, rounded, ramified canopy.

Pics or they don't exist

 

[Smoke]

A trident I'm working on in that look. Picture taken tonight....

 

[timhanson81]

Blue Oaks (Quercus douglasii) grow in the hot and dry foothills of California. They are medium sized trees but still have all the gnarliness of the larger Oaks. The leaves actually have a faint blue color to them.

Pretty awesome mother-daughter composition.






This is the sort of trunk I'm aiming for on some of my deciduous bonasi.


Gratuitous waterfall shot. Deciduous Oaks in the background, Live Oaks in the foreground.

 

[timhanson81]

A trident I'm working on in that look. Picture taken tonight....

When you initially posted that tree after you bought it, the trunk reminded me of a Blue Oak. I love it!

 

[PaulH]

I'm another oak lover. I drive by this Blue Oak twice a day.

 

[timhanson81]

More Blue Oaks.

I love the deadwood hanging out of the bottom of the canopy on this one.

 

[Shima]

Oaks

25 years in Sonoma County, you bet I love oaks! Especially ones munched by deer, or even better, cows.
Also Madrone, too bad the leaves are so big, but still...

 

[Erndogy]

Gratuitous waterfall shot. Deciduous Oaks in the background, Live Oaks in the foreground.
View attachment 32209

Where is this? I have to visit it some time. Is it possible to hike down into that cave?

Thanks

Ernie

 

[Erndogy]

Oak Trees

I also like oaks.. I have a few live oak seedlings I have collected from around my neighborhood. I especially like cork bark oaks. I have a few of those also. I collected some acorns this winter from up in Ridge Crest which I believe are valley oaks. I have one Q. lobata

There are what I believe to be scrub oaks on the hills off of the 57 fwy near Fullerton that I see on my on to work. They are just starting to sprout green after being leafless all winter. They also grow wild in the hills between Cal Poly Pomona and Mt San Antonio college in Walnut Ca.

Those two locations are also used for grazing.

Oaks are pretty cool....

Ernie

 

[small trees]

Pics or they don't exist

Here is a teaser pic of the latter one I mentioned. I will try to get a better angle/picture of it when I can, but I just love the way it looks during the winter. The other one is a few minutes' walk away, and I'm busy right now but I'll try to get one soon.

 

[rockm]

Maryland's Wye Oak (sadly now deceased)
East Texas white oak..
Willow oak, Chesapeake, VA

 

[catfish chapstick]

Great pics, I am enjoying this thread.

 

[coh]

I agree, great photos of some majestic trees!

Bummer to hear about the Wye Oak...my wife and I made a special trip to see that tree when we were living in Maryland in the mid 90s. What a specimen that was, and also a feat of engineering...I think there was more cable in that tree than in some bridges!

Chris

 

[rockm]

Yeah, the Wye oak's death was a bummer. The tree was massive--31 feet in circumference, 96 feet tall and a crown spread of 119 feet. It got hit by a big thunderstorm back in 2002 and toppled--the main trunk weighed 61,000 lbs.

They did plant clones from the original tree at the tree's original site and at Mt. Vernon. You used to be able to buy Wye oak seedlings from the MD dept. of natural resources. I think those sold out long ago though.

 

[Poink88]

What a specimen that was, and also a feat of engineering...I think there was more cable in that tree than in some bridges!Chris

It got hit by a big thunderstorm back in 2002 and toppled--the main trunk weighed 61,000 lbs.

Could these be related?

 

[rockm]

Yeah, of course they're related. The tree was over 450 years old. It had been in decline for the last 100 years. It was old even for an old oak. The saying for oaks is "100 years in youth, 100 years in middle and and 100 years in decline."

 

[Poink88]

Yeah, of course they're related. The tree was over 450 years old. It had been in decline for the last 100 years. It was old even for an old oak. The saying for oaks is "100 years in youth, 100 years in middle and and 100 years in decline."

I mean it having so many cables and being hit by thunderstorm.

 

[coh]

Apparently it was wind, not lightning, that took it down. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wye_Oak

Though it was probably struck by lightning any number of times during its existence...