hy everyone,
i collected this oak last november so it’s on recovering health, establishing roots…
It s grows in kind of “Fukinagashi” but more natural like an oak obviously.
Do you have any idea about how i can handle it to create a natural bonsaï oak.
Begin by going outside and photographing the types of trees you enjoy. If you wonder about how to design a tree in a natural style, then ask Nature to help.
Thanks for your answer. This quercus robur is a yamadori been grown as you can see in a semi shade forest trying to find light.
that meen i can t thrive this tree like a" false hokidashi" style or one major trunck divised in 2 truncks to the apex. All the secondaries branches grows from the 2 truncks and going up and down up and down.
my tree didn’t grew upward so hard to find a guide line for this tree. May be i just let the tree show me the way instead of trying to go into an strict style definited in the John Naka Book.
definitely not an easy piece of material like all yamadori by the way. hope you could understand what i m trying to say.
I would keep it the way it is - makes it different and has its own story to tell 
Perfect and easy for Harmony Design which will look gentle and feminine but the fact it is an Oak will give it look of very old tree.
Good luck!
Definitely the way i choose, not too much bent, he s got bark everywhere so very britle, just few wiring next winter/early summer and rock n roll. keep it natural, i don t want challenging kokufu, taikan ten, gafu… because for me they are wondurfull tree but not so natural. thanks for sharing your advice
I like the tree in the current design. Deserves a nice pot… (How tall is it? Looks 4+ feet?)
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I have found the roots to be the hardest thing about oaks to deal with. The tap roots go WAY deap. I cut the tap roots off at 3 feet…especially collected. Don’t let the potted roots get too long and tangled in pot.
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Second, leaf size is too much on smaller bonsai. Working with four oak types. I have Q gambelii that are small leaves. Slow growing, though.
15 year old from seed in pot…
Hey Wabisan, l love oaks too and l’m in the process of developing some (see the thread on"White oak/Quercus alba"). This tree is found in the province of Ontario, Canada and elsewhere. l have attached some photos from
the neighbourhood of Toronto, Canada. l don’t know there specific species but the movement in the branching tells the story that may help with designing an old oak bonsai. Good luck and keep us posted.hy thank s for sharing with me.
i don t have problem with tape roots because i choose living in rocks pocket or in very rocky ground. the roots can t go deep and they grow as a roots ball wich is cool
yes it s in recollection process. kept the the roots ball intact,with the original soil for a year or two.
there is no tap root cause i collected this quercus oak in high rocky mountain.
i think i m gonna let the tree show me the way he wants to be drive lol.
thank s for sharing photos.
Unexpectedly I’m welcoming myself in a group of proud owners of Oak Trees. Well…seedlings!
Today while waiting for my tea to be infused (2 minutes precisely) I spotted couple of these inside the pots on kitchen window seal they get attention once or twice a year by my landlady who I’m living with when she decides to put some flowers in. No idea how these two seedlings got there but now I’m ready to train them into bonsai trees. So let’s see in many many years time…
@KurtP I would love to hear what you did during 15 years with your seedling if you are keen to share.
Cool. Stealth squirrels… watch out for the moose…(sorry, if you miss the Rocky n Bullwinkle refrence…)
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General process for decideous seedling trees…
Clip off just the tip of each tap root. Put into potting soil for now. Shallow pot. 2-3"? Just above the nut. Light fertilizer. I would put both into one pot.
Second year, if they have several long leaf internodes, cut back to three nodes, after the growth hardens off. Keeps internodes short.
Third year, spring… as buds form, cut roots back by half…?, and pot into bonsai soil for decideous trees… I still use 1/4 composted humus. After leaves harden off, cut top back to 5 nodes; by now, you should have 4 branches and a top node…? If branches have gone crazy long, cut back to 2 nodes.
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Repeat. Move to a deeper pot, 4" deep when needed. Shallower is better…? At this level, in spring when a leader gets to the 4 leaf stage, pluck off the lead leaf.
Usually something disrupts this process… Especially voles and squirrels eating new growth. Cover with hardware cloth cone. They will sprout from established stumps…
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English oaks as bonsai , finished bonsai…plan on probably 36 tall for the leaf size to balance. Ive never got them to reduce. I have one English oak in bonsai pot and 10 in the ground ( they have gotten away from me. They are 10 feet tall…)
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Others may have better ideas. This works for me.
Have fun. Bonsai on!
hy coffee cherry, mine are not seedlings but 70/90 years yamadori. i don t recommand to start from seedling like maple because with oak the tap root serve to stabilize the tree in ground or pot and to feed the tree. But may be they can survive we don t know.
hy Kurt. for this year i let them recover from collecting in medium soil with humus. definitely not bonsai soil yet.
i don t have any tap roots because i cut it when i collected. this particulary oak had roots ball because of arsk rocky soil. If the tree was in a humus soil with no rocks i never collecte because there will have a tap root. with no rocks pocket all tree tend to elevate as tall as they can so they go deep and tap root . if arsh soil, clay, and rocks …bingo roots ball and go for it.
Last year I collected an oak a few years older than these seedilings.
This is a picture before the chop.
I don’t have any pictures of the root but it was similar to your seedlings but all taproot around 20-30cm long with virtually no sideroot. I potted it in the nursery container in the photo so the bottom of the taproot was virtually touching the bottom of the container. It was planted in a standard bonsai soil mix.
This is it this 1 year later, this year.
I went back in and looked at the roots in march and it had started to develop side roots all along the tap root. I cut off most of the taproot leaving hopefully enough side roots and put into the air container with a mix of potting soil and diatomaceous earth (cat litter) and wired it just before it started to leaf out.
hy twisted. why you didn t grown it like a bunjin. you can find.a lot in south france, 500metres elevation, i wont reponting, cut tap root and wire it of i was you.May be cut the tap root if you can and let it back stronger before wiring it. may be cut tap root 2020 and wire it late winter 2021, just be sure he is stronger.
like every others yamadoris i ve got, i know i need to be patient.
By working a tree too early you can kill it or may be less stronger and loose a year or 2. i learnes it by the hard way with my first Ulmus parvifolia when i started to go into bonsaï. may be like every beginner so now
My mentra is one work/year.
