English Oak. What are your first impressions of this tree?

[Wizeeerrrddd]

So I’m about a year into my bonsai journey and I’ve come across a local seller who occasionally collects trees around the UK. I’ve spotted this oak and was wondering what others think of the tree as it is now and how much you would be willing to pay. I’m at he point where I want to invest a little more into the hobby and I need some help to steer me in the right direction.
I am also linking three other hawthorns which caught my eye, feed back on those would be appreciated also.

 

[BobbyLane]

i think the carving is very crude. the apex on the oak trunk looks hastily done, its very thin in comparison to the thickness of the trunk and will take years of ground growing to look convincing. deciduous trees are at their best in winter and thats when any flaws become visible, i imagine these trees have many flaws. the oak looks disjointed, even in leaf the negative areas are too open. if this is the guy in wolverhampton ive been there, i personally think his material is overpriced for what it is. has some big trunks yes, but the trees havnt been trained very well.

 

[BobbyLane]

of course, my opinion is based on how i envision bonsai.others may see these and think they look 'lovely'. the hawthorn thats been styled like a larch or spruce, will be desirable to some.

 

[Potawatomi13]

I'd take that oak in a heartbeat if not too expensive . No interest in Hawthorn so no encouragement. Hate thorns!

 

[BobbyLane]

I'd take that oak in a heartbeat if not too expensive . No interest in Hawthorn so no encouragement. Hate thorns!

why? the OP is new to bonsai and needs a prod in the right direction. how would you improve it? what endears you to it?
i can see whats wrong with it and i know how i could make it better. but i probably wouldnt buy it myself, not at this stage in my bonsai journey.

 

[Potawatomi13]

What you see as "wrong" is in your opinion. Do not see things as you. Seek for virtue or virtues rather than fault. Disdain all the needless carving. Seek for large and/or interesting trunk as most seek to grow and develop from there. If decent basic trunk, health, rest of tree can be developed.

 

[BobbyLane]

What you see as "wrong" is in your opinion. Do not see things as you. Seek for virtue or virtues rather than fault. Disdain all the needless carving. Seek for large and/or interesting trunk as most seek to grow and develop from there. If decent basic trunk, health, rest of tree can be developed.

it looks like its already been carved though, it was once chopped then carved. how would you deal with this large wound? lets bear in mind Oak's grow very slowly. i guess if you didnt like carving, you could slap a big blob of cut paste over the large wound and have an ugly lump of wood for years to come until it heals over. if at all.
Love to see some examples of your work....

 

[Wizeeerrrddd]

i think the carving is very crude. the apex on the oak trunk looks hastily done, its very thin in comparison to the thickness of the trunk and will take years of ground growing to look convincing. deciduous trees are at their best in winter and thats when any flaws become visible, i imagine these trees have many flaws. the oak looks disjointed, even in leaf the negative areas are too open. if this is the guy in wolverhampton ive been there, i personally think his material is overpriced for what it is. has some big trunks yes, but the trees havnt been trained very well.

Thanks for the replies. I kinda see the same things as you do in the Oak, I love the upright of the trunk but I was unsure about the carving and the apex branch. He wanted around £300 for the oak and the hawthorn with the natural dead wood is a bit pricing since its in a show pot.

 

[rockm]

it looks like its already been carved though, it was once chopped then carved. how would you deal with this large wound? lets bear in mind Oak's grow very slowly. i guess if you didnt like carving, you could slap a big blob of cut paste over the large wound and have an ugly lump of wood for years to come until it heals over. if at all.
Love to see some examples of your work....

I'm with Mr. Lane on this. Those oak trunks are just plain big with no grace. The carving is crude and sticks out like a sore thumb. It will take decades to make them look halfway decent. The apex on all of them are just plain bad, the topmost leader pulled upright in a "J" and allowed to thicken with no attention. That "J" is PERMANENT, unless it's cut off and replaced. The chop on the last one needs to be drastically reduced to prevent egregious, nasty inverse taper. I don't know why it was allowed to remain looking like that...

The long thin hawthorn has some potential and hasn't been overly carved like the oaks.

BIG does not always = good.

 

[BobbyLane]

Thanks for the replies. I kinda see the same things as you do in the Oak, I love the upright of the trunk but I was unsure about the carving and the apex branch. He wanted around £300 for the oak and the hawthorn with the natural dead wood is a bit pricing since its in a show pot.

it looks like quite a lump, for the price i want a powerful nebari too, hard to tell from an image, i would need the tree in front of me. but the flare at the base looks a little one sided. something to take into account when purchasing raw or semi worked stock. you want to start with a good base and a good trunk, but i go a step further usually and i also want one or two established branches on the tree

the zelkova cost me £245 as a bare trunk, a ready made leader and a couple of very thick primary branches from which to begin from. powerful tapered trunk after a little work and exceptional nebari

2019-08-02_07-01-22 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

20190205_164656 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

the hackberry £225 everything was already in place.
20190628_190255 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

this elm was £345, everything in place
IMG_4172 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

hornbeam a lot cheaper, but again everything is in place, an outstanding nebari, branches that can be cut back and tapered and even a leader at the top from which to build from
20190519_190902 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

hornbeam, again everything in place
20180226_142056 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

these are attributes i look for when buying raw material
again with this maple
20190320_234229 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

where are you based? i have quite a few bits n bobs so ill let you know if anything comes up

btw dont get me wrong, i love a carved trunk as much as i love a smooth trunk depending on the tree. but because someone already did a crude job it may be difficult to correct depending on your ability and tastes.

 

[Wizeeerrrddd]

it looks like quite a lump, for the price i want a powerful nebari too, hard to tell from an image, i would need the tree in front of me. but the flare at the base looks a little one sided. something to take into account when purchasing raw or semi worked stock. you want to start with a good base and a good trunk, but i go a step further usually and i also want one or two established branches on the tree

the zelkova cost me £245 as a bare trunk, a ready made leader and a couple of very thick primary branches from which to begin from. powerful tapered trunk after a little work and exceptional nebari

2019-08-02_07-01-22 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

20190205_164656 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

the hackberry £225 everything was already in place.
20190628_190255 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

this elm was £345, everything in place
IMG_4172 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

hornbeam a lot cheaper, but again everything is in place, an outstanding nebari, branches that can be cut back and tapered and even a leader at the top from which to build from
20190519_190902 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

hornbeam, again everything in place
20180226_142056 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

these are attributes i look for when buying raw material
again with this maple
20190320_234229 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

where are you based? i have quite a few bits n bobs so ill let you know if anything comes up

btw dont get me wrong, i love a carved trunk as much as i love a smooth trunk depending on the tree. but because someone already did a crude job it may be difficult to correct depending on your ability and tastes.

I'm based in the North West in Wigan so collection is a bit difficult, the gentleman selling the oak was only 5 minutes away. I'm more then willing to pay for postage. I love the look of the elm and hackberry you have, that's the style i'm looking for I was just limiting myself on what was local to me.

Checking out your ebay page now

 

[GreatLakesBrad]

Leaf reduction on the English is pretty impressive

 

[sorce]

The only one with potential is the tall leaning Hawthorn, and even that is just potential to fall over! Lol.

Welcome to Crazy!

Seriously, I can work with that Hawthorn, but would pass on it, due to the looks of the others.

Plus, if I wanted to sell it, I'd sell it without the kickstand. C'mon, I mean, make it work.

Sorce

 

[penumbra]

I am sure that with proper care and training the oaks could evolve into something very nice, but it is a long road to tow. I wouldn't put good money down on one, but if it was in my back yard, I'd work with it. The hawthorn really intrigues me.

 

[atlarsenal]

Plus, if I wanted to sell it, I'd sell it without the kickstand. C'mon, I mean, make it work.

What about the seat belt?