AusBonsai

I purchased this English Oak a couple of months back, after visiting many nurseries, this was the only one with a little movement.

First step ...the chop

New growth as follows The current height of the trunk is 310mm with a 55mm base.
Repotting and root pruning will occur when the plant goes into dormancy.
I am envisionaging a informal upright of about 600-700mm in height, what do you guys think? or should I re-chop to say 80-100mm and hope it backbuds further down.
Any comments on the future styling of this tree is always appreciated.
Please be gentle as I am still a noob

I am hoping for some backbudding to continue further down the trunk.

I would chop it lower so you develop more taper. You will also be able to put a lot more movement into it.

You can Cut back a little more each time and wait for lower buds / shoots to develop and thus chase back the growth if you wish.


Ken

I think its a good start. While Ken's advice is sound, but this might look OK at a finished height of about 300mm. One thing with Oak's is that they grow quite slowly so don't expect too much too soon. Water well in the summer and fertilize when it has leaves and it will be interesting in no time at all.

Looking at the the back view you posted, I would cut just above the first little branch you have on the right. This will be the new leader and is heading in the right direction too for my way of thinking.
In Sydney we still have a good 2 - 3 months growth left and for me, I would expect a chop now woud shot lower down and the new shoots would be OK thru winter as long as it does not get frost bitten which is unlikely where I am.

Ken

In late winter, chop where Ken said, put it in the ground, and get it fat and strong. Lift it each year, and re-plant it at a different angle.

It won't thicken all that much in a pot. If you aim for some strong angles now, when it barks up it will look very powerful.

And yes, I do say the same about pretty much everything... Good luck.

Gavin

cheers guys

Last week, I put an airlayer on mine that i collected this year on Wattos Dig, and will take off when ready
As you can see it is a similar tree but the lover section probably has a little more taper.

As you can see I have have had lots of low shoots on it and will leave them at the moment until I take the layer off and repot in Spring

Ken

Cheers Ken,

I must admit I havent done anything further with mine, life is just too busy at the moment, I feel I have now missed my chance and will wait till spring before I do any major work.

Paul

kcpoole wrote:Last week, I put an airlayer on mine that i collected this year on Wattos Dig, and will take off when ready
As you can see it is a similar tree but the lover section probably has a little more taper.

As you can see I have have had lots of low shoots on it and will leave them at the moment until I take the layer off and repot in Spring

Ken

Hey Ken

Love the little hand print in the lower left corner ... do you have some very young apprentices??

Stewart_Toowoomba wrote:
Hey Ken

Love the little hand print in the lower left corner ... do you have some very young apprentices??

LOL did not even see that.
But no actually, the photo was taken at School last week and he room is used for After school care before us
I assume that one of the kiddlies was in trouble

ken

I took this layer off today as it was very ready I reckon