Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana) seedlings

[Jrfrank231]

Hello everyone! New to Bonsai here. I live in the coastal region of South Carolina where live oaks are abundant. I have always admired these trees and I am interested in starting from a seedling out of my back yard from what I estimate to be a 300+ year old tree. Any advice on how to begin this journey? I have recently gathered a couple of seedlings and potted them in nursery containers. Should I develop their roots before transferring them to a bonsai pot with bonsai soil? Just not sure what approach to take here. I did not take a picture before potting the seedlings but the roots essentially mirror the top growth in size and length.

 

[rockm]

First off, skip the seedlings. You aren't going to live long enough to make them into much of anything in your lifetime.

Hard advice, I know, but oak bonsai are best started with collected larger trees. An oak bonsai isn't really worth having unless it looks like an oak--rough old bark, wide spreading root base and other old characteristics that take a long time to develop.

Seedlings will take a couple of decades of unrestrained growth to approach any of that. In a container, it will take longer.

If you're set on having an oak bonsai, Search around for sapling sized (over three inch trunks at soil level) trees. Those are pretty good candidates for beginning a bonsai. You''ll have to get the hang of collecting trees. It looks like you've got some around. Next spring, start with the ugliest you can find. See if you can get it out of the ground alive and keep it that way for a couple of years.

 

[atlarsenal]

Seedlings are fun but you won’t have a bonsai for a long long time. I would try to find a couple of more with a more substantial base. I am not trying to discourage because I also have 5 live oak seedlings but they will not be bonsai in my lifetime.

 

[rockm]

Or, if you're after the "look" of a southern live oak, boxwood can work too. Larger stock is also required, but more readily available.
I developed this Kingsville boxwood in a "live oak" style...Only took a few years starting with a stock tree that already exhibited some of the characteristics.

 

[Zach Smith]

I'll take a different tack here. Prepare a spot and field grow your live oak seedlings to size. This will take a decade but you can achieve a trunk size of 2-3", and the trees will start to bark up between 10 and 15 years of age. What's good about this is you can actually have some specimens you were able to exercise control over.

For what it's worth.

 

[namnhi]

I'll take a different tack here. Prepare a spot and field grow your live oak seedlings to size. This will take a decade but you can achieve a trunk size of 2-3", and the trees will start to bark up between 10 and 15 years of age. What's good about this is you can actually have some specimens you were able to exercise control over.

For what it's worth.

I would like to add...
Don't know how old the OP is but if you don't start soon. All you have will still be acorns. Another word time is something we all have and can't stop.

 

[Zach Smith]

I'll elaborate some on my experience. In October of 2010 I collected about 50 or 60 acorns, and planted them in a concrete mixing tub. Next spring I had a good crop of seedlings. I planted them plus a few seedlings I'd acquired from someone in a growing bed. Then left them alone for a while. It took a few years for them to get established and strengthen, but over the past few years they've really taken off. I have been able to do some chopping and experimenting with a few, and I now think I know a lot more about this process. I expect to be blogging about it sometime in the near future, if all goes as planned.

 

[Jrfrank231]

Thanks everyone for the advice. Sounds like I need to do some walking around on my property and flag some candidates to dig up for next spring.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

I'll elaborate some on my experience. In October of 2010 I collected about 50 or 60 acorns, and planted them in a concrete mixing tub. Next spring I had a good crop of seedlings. I planted them plus a few seedlings I'd acquired from someone in a growing bed. Then left them alone for a while. It took a few years for them to get established and strengthen, but over the past few years they've really taken off. I have been able to do some chopping and experimenting with a few, and I now think I know a lot more about this process. I expect to be blogging about it sometime in the near future, if all goes as planned.

I’m a Canadian. Have bonsai experience . But none with. Live oak . Have some acorns planted Up here they will have to be wintered indoors . I have a sealed grow light set up that is high in moisture . I understand they will not be anything for a long time but there available and different up here . Any advice on growing conditions preferred moisture soil I have northern oak so some oak experience