Oak trees

It's Kev

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I stumbled upon these tree photos on the interwebs. Oak trees in a place called Blenheim. One of them is over 1000 years old and looks fantastic.
My question is, why doesn't anybody grow them as a bonsai? or, are my eyes just not open to seeing them?00019704.jpeg 00019705.jpeg 00019706.jpeg 00019707.jpeg 00019708.jpeg form-artificial.jpg
 

peterbone

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Blenheim palace in the UK. Not very common for bonsai most likely because the leaves don't reduce very well but definitely do exist. Here's an English oak by Walter Pal.

1.jpg
 

rockm

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Some are easier to collect than others and yes, they are becoming more and more common as bonsai material.

Here are mine--first is a grey oak dug in New Mexico a couple of years ago by a professional collector. Not yet a bonsai yet though. Second is a live oak originally collected in Texas that I've had for 20 years.

grayoak2.jpg greyoak1.jpg livoak.jpg
 

defra

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Some are easier to collect than others and yes, they are becoming more and more common as bonsai material.

Here are mine--first is a grey oak dug in New Mexico a couple of years ago by a professional collector. Not yet a bonsai yet though. Second is a live oak originally collected in Texas that I've had for 20 years.

View attachment 167252 View attachment 167251 View attachment 167249


Any idea on how the roots look of that grey oak?
 

rockm

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Any idea on how the roots look of that grey oak?
Not yet. First winter for it hear. Didn't want to make things more complicated for it so I left it alone this spring. Will probably crack open that root mass in the spring to repot in a more stable growing container.
 

discusmike

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Thats the issue with collecting around me,almost no feeders just a massive tap root
 

GGB

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I'm doing the same as defra. I'm using English oak. I try to use natives when ever possible but oak isn't the best tree for starting behind the 8 ball. Any day now I'll be doing my annual tap root reduction / lateral root balancing
 

rockm

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Thats the issue with collecting around me,almost no feeders just a massive tap root
Which is why looking at nurseries for larger containerized natives such as willow oak is VASTLY more productive in making oak bonsai. Also, if you're looking for native oaks to collect, you're not going to find collectible white oak or red oak easily. Willow oak is very common around here and tends to have shallower roots and less of a tap root. White oaks are all tap root for the first five or six feet down. That's the way they grow. If you want one, you're probably going to have to layer it over a couple of years.
 

M. Frary

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Thats the issue with collecting around me,almost no feeders just a massive tap root
I don't fool around with oaks. We only have 2 here growing in the landscape. White and red. Both have large leaves,long internodes and as much root underground as tree above ground. They are hard to dig up and live.
 
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