Oak tree in nursery

[maroun.c]

While I learned to keep away from large trees I can't manage and which will take years to develop branching thick enough to match trunk....
This oak in a nursery had its top die off but has been doing well since then. I can get it for dirt cheap and nursery owner is willing to cut the trunk at height I want and move it into a smaller pot for me.
Any chance I can do something with those branches to work with the huge trunk and to hide the cut.
What would be the best timing to have them.cut and remove it to a bonsai pot if I decide to go for it? Or do I skip this one as well ?

 

[Housguy]

Trunk is huge, but straight, not much movement, don't know if it would be worth the time, but if you could pull it off, it could be a nice tree down the road in the right pot.

 

[BrianBay9]

Best thing about a cork bark oak is the trunk. I would snap it up even if I had to start all the limbs from scratch. It will back bud easily if healthy. I would cut back pretty low though.

 

[VERMONT USA !!!!]

Is a Quercus Suber ?

 

[maroun.c]

Is a Quercus Suber ?

Its labeled quercus ilex

 

[maroun.c]

What time would be best to chop and repot? Ots too big for me to handle so will need to keep in nursery till they can do the chop for me and then till we can repot. Doubt I can repot and chop at same time ?

 

[Forsoothe!]

The photos are too close to see the whole tree and do any virtuals.

 

[0soyoung]

What time would be best to chop and repot? Ots too big for me to handle so will need to keep in nursery till they can do the chop for me and then till we can repot. Doubt I can repot and chop at same time ?

Q. suber buds like crazy when defoliated 'as buds swell' in spring. I would bet Q. ilex is similar = chop when old leaves start to drop. I'm have no idea whether that is Feb, Mar or some other month around Beirut. My climate is very cool and it is May when this happens with my cork oaks.

 

[maroun.c]

The photos are too close to see the whole tree and do any virtuals.

Will check the tree more thoroughly today and take better pics its around 2 meters high and top was cut so they're letting it go for dirt cheap.

 

[maroun.c]

Q. suber buds like crazy when defoliated 'as buds swell' in spring. I would bet Q. ilex is similar = chop when old leaves start to drop. I'm have no idea whether that is Feb, Mar or some other month around Beirut. My climate is very cool and it is May when this happens with my cork oaks.

March is typically spring for us little rain and temo between 15-20 degrees Celsius. Believe this has tricked me last couple years in repotting where people repot/prune (plants and trees, not bonsai ) in feb.
Would it be feasible to chop and repot at same time or would that be too much risk? If tree is cut short believe i can manage it for the repot.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Based on bark would bet tree is mislabeled. Grab it, cut back fairly low(10-12") and develop new tree from many sprouts.

 

[AJL]

Yes almost sure its wrong labelled- Looks like Q suber not ilex!
IMHO keep it in this pot till its growing well after the trunk chop

 

[maroun.c]

Checjed the tree again this morning. Hard to take good pics as its surrounded by trees. Heres best I could take.
Trunk chop at red arrow

Full teee

Closeup then wide shot of what I believe would be the front. Tree pushes a bit to right and then goes up giving the impression of a much wider base

Its got whorls of branches popping up around the trunk even at low level. At least 4-5 below 15" of height of the trunk when can be cleaned up to 1 branch and used


Shots from right side and then back of the tree where bark isn't as nice

 

[maroun.c]

Can I chop safely in autumn or winter. Will chop a bit higher than planned length in case of die back and then carve chop later on.

 

[BobbyLane]

along with 'when can i repot'
'when can i chop' must be the most commonly asked question on the forum, certainly in the top 5 of most asked questions. fact of the matter is you can chop anytime you like, but most never get the memo

 

[BobbyLane]

here's a quercus i did some heavy work on at a similar time last year
Thread 'Quercus faginea material' https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/quercus-faginea-material.40612/

the new owner is very happy with the tree

there are many who just talk and dont show any evidence of their work.
doesnt hurt to do a little research

 

[BobbyLane]

another i chopped low over winter. i knew it would be ok because there were many dormant buds near the base. come spring all these buds opened up to the images you see in the last few posts. minimal die back at the cut. that didnt matter much as the plan was to do a v cut between to live twigs. it's an oak after all, not a maple!
but if unsure just leave a larger stub. thats common sense though and standard procedure when chopping during the inactive period!

Quercus Rober

English Oak Hi folks, thought i'd share my latest addition, I had initially planned to try a Literati style with this tree as it has the characteristics, tall, slender and elegant trunk, good movement with majority of growth at the top, i was going to remove or reduce and strip the wood off...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[maroun.c]

Realise lack of researching can be annoying, i normally research each and every tree I get and try to get input to put a plan for it. Yet in the case of trees in nursery its always a rush to confirm and block the tree which is the reason to ask at times to try to speed up as it takes time to go through conflicting advice in research....

Great trees you posted, loving the woodwork on the first, and the branches and base on the second one are simply amazing.

 

[BobbyLane]

you will also get varied responses in the replies too where tastes vary, climates, locations, experience etc
tbh the first thing you do with a nursery tree is look at the base and see if its worth the hassle, thats not been mentioned here... for me thats another standard procedure. it looks like it has good flare though, but i always ask the nursery man if i can have a dig around and usually they are ok with this. Ryan neil did a video about choosing nursery material and what to look for. there is nothing conflicting about the information in that video.

 

[luvinthemountains]

FWIW, I have one suber and one ilex, and the leaves on yours look much more like the ones on my ilex. Larger than the suber's leaves, and curled at the edges rather than flat. I think you've just got one with a bit rougher bark than usual.