Want an oak...suggestions?

sorce

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@Hack Yeah! @jonathanvperth ....

But was the soil sterilized?

Do you think they could have done better without bare rooting?

I'm reading barerooted and soaked but not hose washed.

It isn't too surprising that you have success outside of the extreme I am trying to establish.

Sorce
 

Hack Yeah!

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@Hack Yeah! @jonathanvperth ....

But was the soil sterilized?

Do you think they could have done better without bare


Sorce

New bonsai soil, I didn't and have never taken any special sterilization steps. Better? Most certainly! My skills aren't all of that. Can't remember if I hosed it, wasn't much left..lol. pics from December 2017. Just repotted and cut this one back again. Really should be shaping up after this seasonIMG_20171217_110906.jpgIMG_20171217_112021.jpg
 

Mikecheck123

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My favorites are cork oak (Q suber) and coast live oak (Q agrifolia), but both must be protected from freezing. Both handle removal of a tap root well. Both bud back aggressively. Both are among the fastest growing oaks.
Ever tried a blue oak? Tiny leaves. Very interesting foliage.
 

mcpesq817

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I bought a decent sized cork oak in 2018 which was container grown for decades. Did pretty significant root work in April when it arrived and it's done well since. My guess is that I cut more than half the roots off. Can't recall specifically, but my guess is that I hosed off the root ball to be able to get at some of the thicker roots under the trunk. I replanted into larger particle Boon's mix, and threw in some of the original soil as I typically do when repotting my trees.

IMG_5859.JPGIMG_5860.JPG
 
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mcpesq817

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Another oak to try is willow oak. Based on my experience, they tolerate very heavy root work as you can see.

Purchased as a 20 foot plus tree at a pink tag sale at my local nursery in fall 2010, heavy root work in spring 2011 and into a mortar tub:

2011-04-09 a.jpg2011-04-09 b.jpg2011-04-09 c.jpg2011-04-09 d.jpg2011-04-09 e.jpg

Rechopped and wired December 2011:

2011-12-26.jpg


More heavy root work a few years later:

DSC07600.JPG

Here it is in Fall 2017:

IMG_3666.JPG


I put it back in the ground last year to help heal the main chop and thicken the sub trunks. Hopefully I'll be able to get it out of the ground in a few years - it's already solidly anchored.
 

Mikecheck123

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I have not but would like to when I get a chance. Are they good back-budders, fast growers?
I'm not sure yet. I'm just one year into working with mine. It grew a shoot or two about a foot long during last season (e.g. top left). Not much else, but the foliage seems quite vigorous despite being stuffed into this bonsai pot a month ago.

IMG_20200331_104001.jpg
 

sorce

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Leaving more foilage seems to be key?

Sorce
 

Housguy

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I have not but would like to when I get a chance. Are they good back-budders, fast growers?
From what I have heard about blue oaks, is that they are slow growers and probably back bud, but not sure if it back buds as much as a corker would do.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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The original poster is in Georgia, @JesusFreak , I am not certain which of the California & Mediterranean oaks are hardy in the OP's area. I am in the suburbs, mid-way between Milwaukee & Chicago, could be a suburb of either city. I tried running Q. suber, cork oak, as a outdoors for summer, under lights for winter sub-tropical. I had poor results. Eventually the tree perished. Also tried the canyon live oak, or the live oak that grows in canyons outside Las Vegas, Nevada, that one lasted several years longer than Q suber, but eventually perished as indoor for winter, outdoors for summer sub-tropical. In Georgia, your summers are at least 50 to 90 days longer than my summer growing seasons, so the indoors for winter treatment might not be as rough on California oaks as my winters. But for northerners such as myself, I would only do Q. suber & the California live oaks if I had a cool, above freezing greenhouse. Otherwise go with locally hardy species.

But in general, given the above, I recommend for most people that they use species of oak, Quercus, that are fully winter hardy in their area. This means using species that are either native to their immediate environments or are native to colder areas of the country. For an extremely cold tolerant, common over a wide area Quercus I recommend Quercus macrocarpa - the Bur oak. Their best asset is they develop extremely thick, fissured, checked bark, that is quite attractive. They have the thickest bark of the northern oaks. They seem to adapt to container culture. And my winter protection only needs to be set the pot on the ground for the winter. My tree currently is not mulched, just setting on the ground in full sun, same spot it has spent the last 4 winters, and the same spot it has spent the last 4 summers. Drawbacks, the leaves are large, to very large on young seedlings. Good news is the leaves will reduce dramatically in size, with ramification. Leaves under 3 inches in length are easy with 3 levels of branching. I believe in an older tree it is possible to get leaves much smaller, possibly under 2 inches, maybe even smaller. Second draw back, seedlings are slow to trunk up in containers. And if planted in the ground, deep roots could make digging the tree up again quite difficult. Now they do eventually develop trunk caliper in containers, but it takes many more years than the same development for a maple would take.
 

mcpesq817

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I've stored cork oaks in my unheated detached garage for years. It usually stays above 35 degrees, and the only light it gets is from a tiny side window in the back corner.
 

JesusFreak

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It doesn’t usually get too cold here in south Ga. I think the low this past year was like 27-28 F. And I’ve got some wood boxes built and got some grow baskets too. I guess just seeing which route to go.
 
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