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It looks old, that's enough..



Also, why collect your tree now?

View attachment 273927
[/QUOTE]

true enough! I knew it was likely older than the number of rings I could count on this cutting but didn’t figure it could be much older. Either way I think it looks like it has age and character.

Upon speaking with some local collectors they informed me winter is a good time to collect oak in our mild climate. We have only had one or two night where the temp has dropped below freezing for an hour or two. The day temps have been in the 70s. Also I have a lofty goal of collecting a few trees this year without much help so if I wait till spring when buds are swelling I won’t have time to collect but a few trees. I have also read that spring is not a good time to prune red oak due to oak wilt disease so that also influenced my decision to collect now. We will see if this was a mistake.
 

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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It looks old, that's enough..



Also, why collect your tree now?

View attachment 273927

true enough! I knew it was likely older than the number of rings I could count on this cutting but didn’t figure it could be much older. Either way I think it looks like it has age and character.

Upon speaking with some local collectors they informed me winter is a good time to collect oak in our mild climate. We have only had one or two night where the temp has dropped below freezing for an hour or two. The day temps have been in the 70s. Also I have a lofty goal of collecting a few trees this year without much help so if I wait till spring when buds are swelling I won’t have time to collect but a few trees. I have also read that spring is not a good time to prune red oak due to oak wilt disease so that also influenced my decision to collect now. We will see if this was a mistake.
[/QUOTE]
I really like seeing Texas oaks being used for bonsai. They're a hidden resource that rivals those old Rocky Mt. conifers as truly old material for native bonsai. Also good to hear folks are getting the hang of collecting them. Hopefully they will become a big part of U.S. native collected bonsai in the coming years.

As for the age of your tree, I would not discount it being pretty old, like over 100. Small trees can be deceptive with their age. The conditions that produced that rugged bark have also probably slowed the growth of this tree over the years. Just speculating though. Like I said, doesn't really make all that much difference. It has a natural looking age to it anyway, regardless of its actual timeline.
 

arcina

Mame
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true enough! I knew it was likely older than the number of rings I could count on this cutting but didn’t figure it could be much older. Either way I think it looks like it has age and character.

Upon speaking with some local collectors they informed me winter is a good time to collect oak in our mild climate. We have only had one or two night where the temp has dropped below freezing for an hour or two. The day temps have been in the 70s. Also I have a lofty goal of collecting a few trees this year without much help so if I wait till spring when buds are swelling I won’t have time to collect but a few trees. I have also read that spring is not a good time to prune red oak due to oak wilt disease so that also influenced my decision to collect now. We will see if this was a mistake.
I really like seeing Texas oaks being used for bonsai. They're a hidden resource that rivals those old Rocky Mt. conifers as truly old material for native bonsai. Also good to hear folks are getting the hang of collecting them. Hopefully they will become a big part of U.S. native collected bonsai in the coming years.

As for the age of your tree, I would not discount it being pretty old, like over 100. Small trees can be deceptive with their age. The conditions that produced that rugged bark have also probably slowed the growth of this tree over the years. Just speculating though. Like I said, doesn't really make all that much difference. It has a natural looking age to it anyway, regardless of its actual timeline.
[/QUOTE]

I do agree with Mark. You just never know. I can say from experience, that some really, really old trees I collected have been small. Size does not determine age.
 
Messages
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true enough! I knew it was likely older than the number of rings I could count on this cutting but didn’t figure it could be much older. Either way I think it looks like it has age and character.

Upon speaking with some local collectors they informed me winter is a good time to collect oak in our mild climate. We have only had one or two night where the temp has dropped below freezing for an hour or two. The day temps have been in the 70s. Also I have a lofty goal of collecting a few trees this year without much help so if I wait till spring when buds are swelling I won’t have time to collect but a few trees. I have also read that spring is not a good time to prune red oak due to oak wilt disease so that also influenced my decision to collect now. We will see if this was a mistake.
I really like seeing Texas oaks being used for bonsai. They're a hidden resource that rivals those old Rocky Mt. conifers as truly old material for native bonsai. Also good to hear folks are getting the hang of collecting them. Hopefully they will become a big part of U.S. native collected bonsai in the coming years.

As for the age of your tree, I would not discount it being pretty old, like over 100. Small trees can be deceptive with their age. The conditions that produced that rugged bark have also probably slowed the growth of this tree over the years. Just speculating though. Like I said, doesn't really make all that much difference. It has a natural looking age to it anyway, regardless of its actual timeline.
[/QUOTE]

I Couldn't agree more! I really want to see some Texas varieties of scrub oak used as well. They usually have smaller leaf size in general and some nice rugged looking bark. I think quercus havardii and quercus sinuata var breviloba would make excellent bonsai specimens if they are adaptable to bonsai culture. The only draw back i have seen from them in nature is that the deadwood seems to be much softer and rot prone compared to the above species of red oak. Another interesting thing is how readily they hybridize so i think It would be interesting to develop oak that perform well in a pot even if they are not actually usually found in nature...(long term lofty thinking, I know :) )

Not sure if it was noticed in some of the pictures i posted, but there are some nice old Ashe junipers out there as well and I am going to get some help from some experienced collectors to dig a couple this spring. Should be fun!
 
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I really like seeing Texas oaks being used for bonsai. They're a hidden resource that rivals those old Rocky Mt. conifers as truly old material for native bonsai. Also good to hear folks are getting the hang of collecting them. Hopefully they will become a big part of U.S. native collected bonsai in the coming years.

As for the age of your tree, I would not discount it being pretty old, like over 100. Small trees can be deceptive with their age. The conditions that produced that rugged bark have also probably slowed the growth of this tree over the years. Just speculating though. Like I said, doesn't really make all that much difference. It has a natural looking age to it anyway, regardless of its actual timeline.

I do agree with Mark. You just never know. I can say from experience, that some really, really old trees I collected have been small. Size does not determine age.
[/QUOTE]
You have any nice collecting trips planned this winter and spring? I know you collect extensively in NM, curious if you've collected scrub oak and junipers in Texas as well?
 

arcina

Mame
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Maybe NM in the spring. I have collected Ashe junipers in TX but I had a hard time finding nice twisted/deadwood material. They also require a lot of effort to dig as they grow in caliche. I have seen some nice junipers around Caprock canyon state park. I will collect anything that it looks great and have a nice survival chance
 
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Maybe NM in the spring. I have collected Ashe junipers in TX but I had a hard time finding nice twisted/deadwood material. They also require a lot of effort to dig as they grow in caliche. I have seen some nice junipers around Caprock canyon state park. I will collect anything that it looks great and have a nice survival chance
About small very old oaks. I have this one.


It is great example of an old small oak.
That’s a nice one! Really awesome character and with the rugged bark and deadwood. Here’s a couple of other trees I have my eyes on. What kind of soil do the trees in NM grow in?
 

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Potawatomi13

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That’s a nice one! Really awesome character and with the rugged bark and deadwood. Here’s a couple of other trees I have my eyes on. What kind of soil do the trees in NM grow in?

Very nice trees as well as OP tree;).
 

rockm

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I really like seeing Texas oaks being used for bonsai. They're a hidden resource that rivals those old Rocky Mt. conifers as truly old material for native bonsai. Also good to hear folks are getting the hang of collecting them. Hopefully they will become a big part of U.S. native collected bonsai in the coming years.

As for the age of your tree, I would not discount it being pretty old, like over 100. Small trees can be deceptive with their age. The conditions that produced that rugged bark have also probably slowed the growth of this tree over the years. Just speculating though. Like I said, doesn't really make all that much difference. It has a natural looking age to it anyway, regardless of its actual timeline.

I Couldn't agree more! I really want to see some Texas varieties of scrub oak used as well. They usually have smaller leaf size in general and some nice rugged looking bark. I think quercus havardii and quercus sinuata var breviloba would make excellent bonsai specimens if they are adaptable to bonsai culture. The only draw back i have seen from them in nature is that the deadwood seems to be much softer and rot prone compared to the above species of red oak. Another interesting thing is how readily they hybridize so i think It would be interesting to develop oak that perform well in a pot even if they are not actually usually found in nature...(long term lofty thinking, I know :) )

Not sure if it was noticed in some of the pictures i posted, but there are some nice old Ashe junipers out there as well and I am going to get some help from some experienced collectors to dig a couple this spring. Should be fun!
[/QUOTE]
"Another interesting thing is how readily they hybridize so i think It would be interesting to develop oak that perform well in a pot even if they are not actually usually found in nature"

They are a promiscuous bunch ;-) The willow oaks in East Texas on my parent's place have leaves that resemble live oak. They don't look like the leaves on willow oak up here in Va.

Cross-Breeding native oaks for bonsai purposes is indeed a very long term goal.
;)
 

arcina

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It depends. Some in decomposed leaves (They grow in really hard rocks), others in some kind of clay/rock (The best ones but really hard to get enough roots)
 
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