Talk:Bonsai cultivation and care

Oak bonsai from seed?

Is there a particular type of oak that is more amenable to propagation from seed than others? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jbnisenson (talk • contribs) 22:10, 20 September 2011 (UTC)

Growing a mighty oak (or even an oak bonsai) from an acorn should be easy to start, although the finish may be a long way down the road. As with any bonsai, you will find it easiest to germinate an acorn from a species of oak that is native to your location. In North America, oak acorns from colder climates need to be stratified to germinate, while those from southern climates only need to be placed in soil and watered. There are some guides on the web that you may find useful:

• Growing Your Own Oak Seedlings
• Growing Oaks From Seed
• Plant an Acorn - Grow an Oak Tree
• Propagate Oak Tree Seed

I haven't seen much prominence for oak as bonsai, and I suspect that may be because their leaves tend to be large and only look in proportion for a fairly large trunk. There are smaller-leaved species, if you can believe some of the photos Google finds for "oak bonsai", but they are not species I have seen in the wild. In most tree species, it takes decades to grow a large trunk from seed and it can be a lot faster to find an existing tree to be cut back to bonsai size. Good luck on your project - perhaps you can share some photos with us. Some web resources for oak bonsai:

• Using oaks for bonsai - growing oaks for bonsai in the northern California climate
• Collecting and Repotting Quercus robur/English or European Oak - collecting grown oaks
• Training the Oak Bonsai Tree - collecting

Sahara110 (talk) 20:46, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Thank-you! Very helpful. --Jbnisenson (talk) 17:08, 23 September 2011 (UTC)