Part of my bonsai journey, and perhaps yours as well, has been to try new things from time to time – and sometimes things that don’t make a lot of sense when you first undertake them. Take for example “collecting out of season.” I think we’re all familiar with the admonition to only collect trees during dormancy, in other words winter. While this principle is hard to argue with, it is also not universal. Years ago I figured out that it’s best to collect sweetgums in May, because the survival rate is higher. I learned from local experts that water-elms are best collected in July and August.
A couple of years ago, on a whim, I decided to lift a water oak on my own property in summer. The tree survived, which led me to branch out to willow oak, which also survived. I found that these species can be collected into August. This year I decided it was time to try lifting a live oak, Quercus virginiana, in summer, so in July I dug this tree from my growing bed.
I decided to leave the foliage you see on the tree and to place it in the shade. In a few days the edges of the leaves began browning, so I went ahead and cut them mostly off – I was careful not to cut too close to the petioles, in order to not damage the dormant buds in the leaf axils. Then I waited.
It took a couple of weeks, but finally some buds started swelling. If you look closely enough you can see the new shoots just about to start pushing. As I mentioned in the earlier post on this tree, I do need to cut the leaders back hard – but that is not a task to be done this year. The tree needs to get established in its nursery pot first, which means I wait until next spring to cut. The good news is, live oak grows with surprising vigor in a pot. For a tree that can live several hundred years, it’s not something you’d expect. But I’m all for vigorous growth, so I’m not complaining for a second.
If you’re interested in live oak for bonsai let me know. I plan to offer some for sale next year, and will be happy to put your name on my live oak “wish list.”
Zachary, I’ve been following you for two years now, and I’m so impressed. I live in mobile Alabama, which the weather here is as strong as living in Miami
I’ve lost two conifers this summer due to extreme heat and root rot. I was warned. Now I see if I continue with my bonsai hobby then I must move toward more tropical or those that grow around me. The live oaks are huge here, huge. I collected a beach oak years ago like you I did it in the summer, it was very old when I did this, it made it and today it’s in a collection and is huge. Put me on your list for the oaks and any others that you think I can keep alive, thanks for all the true professional advice, your the only artist I’ve found who continually works with local species, thanks for all the post and keep sharing your knowledge.
Greg
Thank you for the kind words, Greg. I’ll put you on my live oak wish list. As for other species you can keep alive in Mobile, our respective climates are quite similar so you should have good luck with the elms, hawthorns and others I grow. About 30 years ago I learned that it’s easiest to grow for bonsai the species that grow all around me – so that’s what started me in the business with natives. It’s worked out well so far.
Hi Zach,
Do you have any experience using the native eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) as bonsai? If so, do you have any tips?
Ken, I haven’t grown ERC as bonsai for over 20 years. Let’s just say it’s a challenging species. The old ones in the wild are so awesome they make you want to grow them as bonsai. It’s just hard to make them work.
Removing taproot… Hey Zach cool stuff. My kid and I collected some coastal live oak acorns and are trying to get those going. I’m however a bit confused about the removal of the taproot. I’ve previous unearthed a seedling, ~5 leaves, and noticed there were no lateral roots. I also dug up another that was nearly 14 inches tall and couldnt dig deep enough to see lateral roots. No idea how those acorns ended up on my yard but killed both of them. With the collected acorns I’ll grow them in pots. When and how should I remove the tap roots? Any insights? Thanks!
Brian, oaks don’t typically put on any lateral roots for the first few years after sprouting. I grew a bunch of live oaks from seed back in 2011 and basically just left them alone for three years before pulling them from the tub and potting or planting out. When I pulled them I did partially cut the tap but didn’t remove it all. I would recommend you try it that way. It seems cutting off some tap from a three-year or older seedling promotes lateral root growth. Good luck!