Quercus Robur yamadori - experienced advice please

Hello IBC,
I just signed up here and live in Northumberland, UK. Luckily, I have permission to collect in an area good for oaks. I've pictured the best two below. All oaks in this area seem healthy and strong, just twisted due to a thin soil layer and stunted by very occasional deer browsing. I lack experience with oaks, having only collected and developed one young tree over the past 5 years. To minimise the risk of death or dieback I would like advice on the best time to collect - Harry Harringtons experience suggests early August - and any development suggestions would be very welcome too please.

The is the first tree before and after a cut back today, ~70cm tall. The roots look well ramified on compact on this tree.







This is the second tree, now 110cm tall, with a lovely flare at the truck base (currently buried). The roots are longer, so today I cut back two roots (out of 5) at 10cm out under the right hand side after cutting quite a bit off the apex on this side. I trimmed less from the left hand side and apex so just cut one root one (out of 4) 10cm out from the left. I dug out 5cm depth and 15 cm wide around the base of the trunck and packed this, and the cut root ends, with spagnum moss and a thin layer of soil.



I dont think I'll find many trees like these in my lifetime - with IBC help, I'd like to give them the best treatment and care possible!

Hopefully,
David

I'm not experienced enough to give you advise but they are excellent piece . Well done for finding them and good luck.

Neither am I, but you may find good advice there, all the more than it's from your country:

bonsai4me - Quercus

Very nice material! It’s all dependant on the roots. Most Oaks have very large deep tap roots with few feeders near the surface unless growing in wet open soil. In my experience this requires a two year process of collecting (undercutting and then trenching). If it must be collected this year I would dig a very deep trench a foot or so around the trunk and the same in depth to cut the tap root. Personally I would leave soil intact around the root ball until re-potting in a few years. To increase its chances drastically (I can’t big this stuff up enough) use both Cannazym Bonsai root Booster &
Rhizotonic Root growth stimulant.

http://www.kaizenbonsai.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=26_78&products_id=2463
http://www.kaizenbonsai.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=26_78&products_id=2461

Good luck Sam.

My personal experience with quercus robur is that they struggle to root once in leaf - i got very little root so perhaps i had a bad experience. The rest were repotted as they buds were breaking in spring - and the barely noticed and grew vigorously.

Lucky find - i walked the farms around durham for months and only found a few hawthorn in hedges.

Thanks Paul and Alain.

Sam, neither of these has a deep tap root (maybe why the trunks are twisted and branches are low and ramified?) there is a clay rich peat layer that seems to be anoxic about 15 to 30 cm below the soil surface that no roots penetrate. The trees are quite safe, so no need to rush them.

Paul, thats one vote in preference of sping collection then! I found these after 5 years of taking every chance to look at new areas near my home - the more I look the luckier I get!

Great materials. Congrats finding them. Sorry, I have no experience to share about these plants.

DaveKirkland wrote:...the more I look the luckier I get!

Reminds me of one international champion when asked if he believe in luck...he said "I do and I found that the more I practice, the luckier I get."

Dario, yes I paraphrased that golfer! but it's so true!
Dave

Looks like August might be best for collecting these then.

To style both trees, I'm thinking to cut back all branches to stubs 5 to 10cm long, apart from the top 1/3 of each tree which I'm considering to jin - any advice on the best time to do this if I collect in August, or any other styling ideas please?

I was out in the garden checking my trees today. first time in a while as work is a bit of a burden.

some of my stock that i am growing is nursery stock - from hedge row nurseries. Oaks are sold bare root for hedging until april. my beech's and hawthrorns have a 100% survival when bought this way. perhaps the commercial nurseries show the way forward. just a thought.

keep us posted on that nice material.

Thanks Paul, you've tilted the balance back towards a spring collection....

How are these doing?