Are oaks ok?

Hi,

About three months ago I came across a cluster of acorns and planted them in a seed tray on my kitchen windowsill. Six have so far come up, and my question as a raw beginner is simply do oaks make good bonsai?

Many thanks

Dick

Oaks are very good for bonsai. Growing them from seed is a rather long winded process though. You will need to trim the taproot of each quite ruthelessly when you pot them up in spring. Just leave a few of the fine hair roots that are around the base of the trunk. Keep them out of direct sun and wind for a couple of weeks.

To get a decent trunk thickness, it is best to plant them out for a few years, if you can.

Many thanks, Kev. That's brilliant. I had half expected to hear that oaks were a non-starter. For one thing, I can't find any articles in reducing leaf size in oaks.

Dick

Don't worry about leaf size until you've got them to the size and shape of trunk that you want. Once they go into a final pot, the trimming routine of removing strongest buds and cutting back all shoots to the first pair of leaves brings the leaf size down remarkably over three or four years.

This one of mine's been worked on over ten years and is around 100 years old.

Kev,
Nice Oak! I assume it's an english oak. The bark and twigging are looking good.

I've got some native oaks here in Florida and I'm hoping to get ramification as good as yours some day.

Nice looking tree, Kev! Reminds me of some of the Live Oaks lining the roads as I drive past on the way to the beach on South Carolina's coast. Ours are Quercus virginiana, also known as the Southern Live Oak, and are evergreen. There's a link to the 1400 year old Angel Oak on the Wikipedia site

Yes it's Quercus robur. Mine is modelled on a mature tree that I drive past every day on my way to work.

Thanks again, Kev. Absolutely terrific tree. Very envious indeed.

Dick