Please help me out choosing my next bonsai!

Fridge

Yamadori
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Hi all

When I was out walking at the weekend I saw an ancient oak that was amazing, one of those trees that would be great to shrink in to bonsai size...

It was an ancient oak with a great trunk, leaves toward the bottom, and a few branches of great old (not too thick) deadwood sticking out of the top. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture but I have attached some images from the internet which look fairly similar to give you an idea of the look

I would like to get a bonsai which I can work in to this style but I know if I go for an oak this will likely be very expensive. I know junipers would be a good candidate but I would prefer a deciduous for my next tree

I was actually thinking about a Styrax for this as I have seen a few which would not break the bank and have great trunks but could you please suggest any species which you think would suit a project like this?

Thanks!
Fred
 

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Rivian

Chumono
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Just dig up oak yamadori, but nothing too large or super old because youre still a beginner and might well kill it. Wouldnt want you to kill an impressive part of the landscape, but something like 10-30 year old prebonsai yamadori should be fine to collect. Only collect plants with enough feeder roots, of course.
 

Fridge

Yamadori
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Location
London, UK
Just dig up oak yamadori, but nothing too large or super old because youre still a beginner and might well kill it. Wouldnt want you to kill an impressive part of the landscape, but something like 10-30 year old prebonsai yamadori should be fine to collect. Only collect plants with enough feeder roots, of course.

Thanks for this, the vid was great, informative and made me want to get out there and do it. Only issue is that over here in the UK it is very difficult to find anywhere it is legal and feasible to do this - but I will do some more investigating!

In the mean time are there any other (preferably deciduous) species which you think would suit this style?
 

Rivian

Chumono
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Thanks for this, the vid was great, informative and made me want to get out there and do it. Only issue is that over here in the UK it is very difficult to find anywhere it is legal and feasible to do this - but I will do some more investigating!

In the mean time are there any other (preferably deciduous) species which you think would suit this style?
English elm, siberian elm and field maple come to mind. For ancient looking trees like on your pictures, though you might have a bad time if you want to create deadwood with any deciduous tree. Check out this video, it has some good species. Its a bonsai nursery in surrey, maybe you could even drive there and look for affordable material.

They have a website too, but very poorly stocked, the nursery has much more to offer in person. https://www.herons.co.uk/
 
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