red oak for bonsai

[James H]

Has anyone here used red oak for a bonsai? I see a lot of interesting wild red oak when I'm out hiking and the trunks look like they could make a nice looking bonsai but the leaves would be difficult with their size.

 

[Tieball]

Probably a Texas sized oak bonsai

I've tried oaks in Michigan. The leaves reduce some, from a full size down to about 2"-3", but the leaves quickly revert back to the much larger size when given an opportunity to grow. Others may have better success with oaks. I think that Texas may have different oaks though due to a lack of moisture for periods of time. Recently I was in Colorado and saw oaks at the Garden of the Gods hiking area, near Colorado Springs, and they had fabulously small leaves....about 1.5" in length. Perfect miniature leaves. I Don't know the tree specifics, however, the leaves had the pointed edges I usually see in a Michigan red oak. I guessed that the lack of water created the size reduction. The trees were more like a small brush....very dry and stressed...and not a towering oak tree. Perhaps some people in this forum are familiar with that oak and have techniques to successfully produce consistently small leaves on a tree. This would interest me also.

You may have some fabulous larger Texas-sized oak bonsai trees.

 

[Great Falcon]

texas red oak

http://http://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAYQjB0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fbenttreebonsai.blogspot.com%2F2010%2F03%2Ftexas-red-oak.html&ei=aPFUVMiVEJP3yQTomYCIBw&bvm=bv.78677474,d.aWw&psig=AFQjCNGo0uJI1iAgW0VCiC-hqjZLUfCSpA&ust=1414939159655671 I got a 1 1/2inch live oak and a pin oak I'm gonna try to do something in spring but at this moment they don't look like much. thats a link I found online.

 

[markyscott]

I have a southern live oak I've been developing for a couple of years. It was collected from the Pearl River area in eastern Louisiana. I think that they can adapt to bonsai culture very well, although I've seen only a few in cultivation. They are native to my area, bud back readily from old wood, tolerate major root reduction, develop interesting bark, grow rapidly, and can be collected with interesting trunk lines. I'm not sure why oaks are not used more commonly outside of California as there are hundreds of native oak species across the US, but my advice is to give it a go. I plan on adding more this collecting season.

Scott

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

There is no reason to try red oak. My understanding is oaks are a neglected species mainly because the Japanese tended to not use them. I'm not clear on why, but I think in Japan there was in the past a cultural bias against using the oak. It may simply have been viewed as too common and boring a tree to use.

In the USA we have an incredible diversity of oak species (Japan has only 3 or so, all very similar). So we should give them a try. In the EU, Quercus robur (English Oak) and Q. suber (Cork oak), are regularly used and make impressive specimens, especially for sizes larger than shohin.

Right now I have some 3 summer's old Quercus macrocarpa, Bur Oak, seedlings in pots. Huge leaves, but the plus is that even at this young age there is some bark beginning to form near the roots. AND my favorite - they are incredibly cold hardy. They survived the 2013-2014 winter, -17 F here, with no added protection beyond going under the bench and covered with a tarp. This is a major plus for using native material. Summer of 2015 will be the year I start the trunk chopping, to induce branching. Right now most are 3 foot tall sticks with just a branch or two at the tops. I'm looking forward to hear more of other's experiences with oaks.

 

[Potawatomi13]

At one time it was not such a big deal with the orientals if a tree had bigger leaves. Today things there have become so formalized and constrained this is no longer so. Many many trees, particularly Japanese are more charicatures of trees and not entirely pleasing to look at unless the rule book is all you go by. Today in America we are developing our own version of Bonsai as espoused in the Artisans Cup to be something of our very own. Fear not to do something a little different than is done in Japan. If looking at the scores of the judges for the Artisans Cup you will see that Walter Palls were generally the highest. He SEES the beauty in American native trees and in the more naturalistic styling and this is how we should see as well. I also have 3 young Red Oak that will be Bonsaied as well and favor oaks in general.