[Bruce III]

So I have both oak and a plumeria seedlings that I've started from seed. Are these able to be cultivcated as bonsai very easily?

[Ryan_tree]

Bruce III, on 04 November 2009 - 10:04 PM, said:

So I have both oak and a plumeria seedlings that I've started from seed. Are these able to be cultivcated as bonsai very easily?

Depends on the species of oak. They also have extremely long tap roots which make it difficult to bonsai them.

[Bruce III]

Ryan_tree, on 04 November 2009 - 09:13 PM, said:

Depends on the species of oak. They also have extremely long tap roots which make it difficult to bonsai them.

Based on the leaves of the tree under which I collected the acorns, I believe that it is some type of white oak. I already see how the roots could give issues with bonsai as they are coming through the holes in the bottom of the pot and are huge already!

[Treefan]

You'll need to cut back the tap root in 2-3 chops, but it will start to produce new feeders high up on itself so you can work on keeping those lateral. Once you have a reasonable high rootball, you can more or less get rid of the tap.

[Bruce III]

Treefan, on 04 November 2009 - 09:25 PM, said:

You'll need to cut back the tap root in 2-3 chops, but it will start to produce new feeders high up on itself so you can work on keeping those lateral. Once you have a reasonable high rootball, you can more or less get rid of the tap.

Thanks so much for the information on that. So when should I start cutting the taproot back? I am completely inexperienced and I don't yet have any actual bonsais, I just have two maples (collected as seedlings this summer) in pots that, accoring to the advice I got on here, need to grow for another 4 or 5 years each until I start to do anything with either of them. To think that I should start trimming roots on a new seedling seems a little unusual to my inexperienced self but given the taproot issue it makes sense.

[Heisei]

From what I understand of oaks very few can actually be used as bonsai. English and live oak come to mind as good candidates. However, if I remember correctly, white oak is one of the species that is not really suitable for bonsai. In fact, the leaves may actually get bigger as you apply reduction techniques. Maybe if you wanted a very big bonsai you could use the oak, but it certainly would have to be very large. The taproot shouldn't be much of an issue assuming you have the tree in a pot and it is young. You can chop the tap root (early spring) then plant in the ground on a tile and let it grow for many years to get the large trunk you will need for a white oak bonsai.

Aaron

[jkl]

Plumeria, while beautiful, have little potential a bonsai. The fleshy branches cannot be wired or bent. You will get little ramification.

[Bruce III]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I'll just keep the plumeria in a pot for now, as I know that I still have a few years until it gets too big. I have 3 small oaks and I'll just throw them in the woods around here next spring to let grow normally.