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26-Oct-2005
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#1 |
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Navigating Real Estate
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Willow Oak?
Hi all,
Would a willow oak make a good Bonsai tree? If it does, have any of you grown one and what did you like and not like about it?
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Corbin Draco the Red |
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Willow Oak? |
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26-Oct-2005
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#2 |
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bonsaiTALK Master Chief
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You know I was thinking about the possibility of willow oak as bonsai the other day walking through campus and I noticed the dense and small foliage. I started wondering how this would look as a large bonsai. I'd also like to hear about any success anyone has had with this species.
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26-Oct-2005
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#3 |
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bonsaiTALK ArchMaster
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This species is used only sporadically as bonsai and that's a shame. It is a great candidate. I've seen a couple willow oak bonsai over the years--all made by bonsaiists in the Southern U.S. They were all pretty nice trees.
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26-Oct-2005
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#4 | |
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Navigating Real Estate
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Quote:
What kind of styling did they use on these trees? Also did the leaves look right on it and would it be a strictly outdoor tree?
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Corbin Draco the Red |
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26-Oct-2005
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#5 |
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bonsaiTALK ArchMaster
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It is a strictly outdoor tree. That's where it grows in your area, that's where it should stay. Attempts to bring temperate trees indoors kills them
The willow oak I've seen have been informal upright styles, although with wild collected trees, "style" is used loosely.. You mainly have to work with the trunk you find. That means irregular, sometimes quirky trunks and trees. The trees--these were faily large with 3-6 inch diameter (not circumference) trunks and about two or three feet tall. They were made from wild trees that were originally 20' to 30' tall and trunk and root chopped. The leaves look in scale with larger bonsai and reduce by about half, from what I could tell. I'm pretty sure they could be reduced more given time and appropriate care. They are pretty easily to collect, judging from what I've heard from people who have them. They are shallow rooted and recover quickly from drastic root reduction. |
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26-Oct-2005
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#6 |
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Trunk Collector
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I've got three willow oaks that were "nursery collected"...they had grown out of their pots years ago in a forgotten corner of the nursery. When I found them the guys had chainsawed off the tops in preparation for digging them out and throwing them away. They let me have them for the digging. The trunks are 3 - 5" diameter.
I can tell you there were plenty of shallow roots, and the trees bounced back from this radical chop like champs. They've each put on three feet of top growth in one season. They have sprouted lots of new growth on old wood. Clearly I don't know anything about leaf reduction yet. I'm very encouraged about their use, at least for fairly large sized bonsai. Brian
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There's a difference between taking your art seriously, and taking yourself too seriously. |
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26-Oct-2005
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#7 | |
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Navigating Real Estate
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Quote:
Brian, When you say radical chop, was there any leaves left after this happened? Then did it back bud fairly quickly?
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Corbin Draco the Red |
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26-Oct-2005
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#8 |
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bonsaiTALK ArchMaster
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Radical chops usually mean the entire top three quarters or more of the tree is chopped off. That usually means no leaves, limbs are left. LEaves and limbs are the most easily replaceable parts of a bonsai. The branches on most collected trees are too large to use in the final bonsai image, so most of the time, bonsaiists start "from scratch" with only a trunk...Do some research here on trunk chopping and how to work with this. Willow oak are entirely capable of a quick recovery, as are most native American hardwood trees. I have been working with Virginia live oak for more than five years. It's another native oak that's not used nearly enough in bonsai circles.
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26-Oct-2005
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#9 |
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Trunk Collector
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Yes RockM is right in my case...no leaves or branches left. I had roots and about a 2 ft section of trunk in the spring. Now I have the same, plus three feet of new growth.
Brian
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There's a difference between taking your art seriously, and taking yourself too seriously. |
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26-Oct-2005
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#10 |
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bonsaiTALK ArchMaster
 
Join Date: Sep-2004
Location: South San Francisco, CA
Posts: 2,081
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I must confess that I'm not at all familiar with willow oak. I was curious as to the botanical name, so google came up with the answer.
Mike ---------------------------------------------------------------------- willow oak Fagaceae Quercus phellos L. Leaf: Alternate, simple, 2 to 5 inches long, linear or lanceolate in shape (willow-like) with an entire margin and a bristle tip. Flower: Monoecious; males borne on slender yellow-green catkins; females borne on very short axilliary spikes, both appear very early with the leaves. Fruit: Acorns are very small, 1/4 to 1/2 inch across, nearly round and yellow-green, turning tan when older, caps are thin, saucer-like and cover only 1/4 of acorn with thin, tomentose, appressed scales. Twig: Slender, hairless, olive-brown in color when young; multiple terminal buds are very small, reddish brown and sharp-pointed. Bark: On young stems, smooth, gray and tight; later becoming darker and forming irregular rough ridges and furrows. Form: A medium sized tree up to 80 feet tall that forms a dense oblong crown when open grown; lower branches do not readily self-prune. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Bonsai is not a hobby. Bonsai is a way of life ====================================== There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way Gautama Buddha ====================================== To a novice, I'm a master but To a master, I'm a novice mp |
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