an oak question

[yorkshiresparky]

hello,

 

i have an young oak tree in the garden that needs to be choped down/moved for some building work, its about 6' tall and i dont have anywhere to put it. instead of throwing it out, i plan on using it for a bonsai tree, ive googled that oaks dont respond well to branch chop and suffer dieback. my plan would be to chop the trunk off at about 3' and hope to get backbudding to make a new branch structure.

 

now i know this is not everyones cup of tea but they probably go on to live healthyer lives and live longer.

 

do you think it would survive this and if so, when would the best times be to do this?

 

thanks in advance guys

 

Gavin

[agg221]

Hi Gavin,

 

Did the oak grow naturally from seed, or was it planted there from a pot? If it grew naturally, it probably has a pretty serious taproot, going straight down, unless you're on very thin soil or it hit a load of rubble etc. They don't like having their taproots damaged so that's probably the biggest problem in moving it.

 

Since you don't have a lot to lose, you might as well give it a go. It's best done as soon as the leaves fall so it's dormant. Trees continue root development over the winter, so it might be OK. It's a bit big for conventional bonsai, but you could use the same approach, in a tub rather than a small pot. I would consider planting in a dustbin for now as they're cheap so you don't lose much if it doesn't work, dig it out with as much taproot as you can get, knock some holes in the bottom of the bin and fill up the bottom third with rubble, then the top two-thirds with John Innes No.2 and plant accordingly. Keep it somewhere sheltered for the first year as its ability to take up water will be reduced. With a bit of luck, you'll get the root structure to develop fibrous roots and then when you lift it for root pruning you can take the taproot back accordingly if needed.

 

Good luck!

 

Alec

[yorkshiresparky]

thanks alec, im not sure if its from seed or planted, like you said i dont really have anything to loose, good to know about the tap root thought, ill have to take it easy.

bonsai can be anything up to 4' just different categories..

 

if it was to survive, what are they like back budding? are they as temperamental as made out?

 

thanks for your advice

 

Gavin