Portuguese Oak (Quercus Faginea)

Hi!

This Portuguese oak was collected for more than three years. It has more than 50 years!
It is in development and thickening of the branches, in the next year will be transplanted into a bonsai pot.
Is a very good species for bonsai, grow and adapt well to bonsai techniques. Has small leaves which in winter are from yellow, through the copper and brown.  
Height - 70cm.
Opinions and comments!

Thank you!!
Bruno.

Very nice!!! I'm unsure of that dipping branch on the viewers right. Very interesting character!!

Powerful trunk, nice bark, good movement...but it looks nothing like an Oak in nature, it looks more like a Spruce with those drooping branches, just
being honest mate.




I'd be aiming for something like this

Upward rising branches will enhance the trunk and give you a far more imposing and powerful image.

Hi BobbyLane!

Unfortunately this tree does not even have a move to a "drawing" of those in image, who will be more like a forest tree "drooping hokidashi".
All branches will have much more to thicken so that they are as I will: a mountain tree, something minimalist, very old and "drooping".

Thanks for your opinion.

A very promissing tree Bruno.

I think you should definitely keep the "dipping branch on the viewers right", but maybe turn tree round a bit: it's always hard to tell when you can't see the tree in 3 dimensions.

I had never heard of, or seen this species before (Quercus Faginea), but there are so many species. The Portuguese page on Wikipedia doesn't give a list, but look at the French version:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%AAne#Liste_des_esp.C3.A8ces

=> Wow!

Wow.

Since it is a species that only grows in Mediterranean climates, I wouldn't pay attention to pictures of oaks that grow in northern europe or other parts of the world: it's as if someone suggested you to shape a Montpellier maple from north Africa like a sugar maple from Canada, or a sycamore, or a Norway maple

This is a very unusual species in the realm of bonsai enthusiasts, and a very beautiful tree you've got there, and with proper care, you can make it a unique masterpiece. And please, don't follow any advice from people who don't live in an area where it grows, you'd just kill it!

And I've learned something else: I knew what "Da Silva" means, but among the many people of Portuguese origins that live here, a lot of them bear the name "Carvalho", and now I know that it is the equivalent of the French very common name "Duchëne", or "Duchesne" which means exactly the same: Oak (Quercus)

I must tell that to my friends Alexandra Antunes and Jean-Luc Coimbra de Brito, and Wanda who's from Brazil and whose maiden name now I'm curious to know Being myself of foreign origins like 1 in 3-4 French people, I'm always interested in "what's in a name"...

I like this material a lot. I has a great future.

With a strong, rough trunk that appears to be towering above, it is unexpected and incongruent to see it swoop so far down as to become a semi-cascade.  I too suggest removing some of the dipping branch on the right, but maybe it is a chance to learn something different. Either way, I hope you post serial pictures as it develops further.

This tree is very promissing.

Keep us updated.

AlainK wrote:
And I've learned something else: I knew what "Da Silva" means, but among the many people of Portuguese origins that live here, a lot of them bear the name "Carvalho", and now I know that it is the equivalent of the French very common name "Duchëne", or "Duchesne" which means exactly the same: Oak (Quercus)

   


Example of working in oak nothing "naturalistic", as is most common in nature!


One of the most famous Quercus Faginea bonsai, by Luis Vallejo, Spain

Quercus Faginea in Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_faginea

Here in Portugal, in some places, they grow in small hills with no vegetation around. This was the case of this tree, which was perfectly in these conditions, so it is very common to see trees in nature with unusual configurations, different from the oak trees that can see without further north in Europe, for example.

Thank you all for the comments!

Hi!

Here is a small update of this Portuguese oak.
Last year, he had a root fungus problem that almost killed him ... fortunately the treatment took effect after a few weeks ...
For the year 2018, the focus is to densify the branching and thicken a few branches!

Opinions! Thank you!

Love it. Wish it was mine!

BrendanR wrote:Love it.  Wish it was mine!

Thank U!!

Great tree!

I'd cut off some of the leader though and focus more on extending the first two branches (left and right) more horizontally)...

-AK-

AlainK wrote:Great tree!  

I'd cut off some of the leader though and focus more on extending the first two branches (left and right) more horizontally)...

-AK-

Hi!
Thanks for the opinion!
In fact it is an imposing tree!! I think I'll be happy to work on it in the next few years.

Bruno António wrote:Hi!

This Portuguese oak was collected for more than three years. It has more than 50 years!
It is in development and thickening of the branches, in the next year will be transplanted into a bonsai pot.
Is a very good species for bonsai, grow and adapt well to bonsai techniques. Has small leaves which in winter are from yellow, through the copper and brown.  
Height - 70cm.
Opinions and comments!

Thank you!!
Bruno.

Beautiful and interesting tree. I would very much like to see a photo of the leaves when mature as to shape and size.

Vance Wood wrote:
Beautiful and interesting tree.  I would very much like to see a photo of the leaves when mature as to shape and size.

Hi Vance! Thank U!

I will post photos at the end of next spring.

Regards!

Another very impressive Oak tree with great bark and lots of character. I like it a lot.

As others have suggested I don't think I would have styled it quite like that either but then it's not my tree is it Anyway it's very good and I would love to have one half as nice.

Cheers

Richard

Richard S wrote:Another very impressive Oak tree with great bark and lots of character. I like it a lot.

Hi Richard!
Thanks!
Regards!