Post Oak (Quercus stellata) Yamadori - Middle Tennessee

[goldenginkgo]

Hello All,

In winter of 2023 I discovered this post oak growing on a steep incline at an old family farm. For context, the substrate is called chert and the family used to sell it by the dump truck load to the city to use for road bedding back in the 70s. The picture of the dormant tree was taken in December 2023. I pruned it back and it has since shot back many healthy new shoots (as seen in the other photo taken this past summer). I am planning on collecting it in February 2025 and was wondering if anybody had any advice on additional prep work I could do. I'm considering taking a root slayer shovel to the tree to encourage fibrous root growth closer to the trunk and doing light dosing of 0-10-10 fertilizer throughout the winter. I welcome any and all feedback. I'm trying to collect it in February because I'm not sure if the farm will be sold in the near future.

 

[BonsaiManic]

Great find! I can't offer much help, but congrats on the "new" and impressive tree! Following the thread. I'm gonna learn something here for sure.

 

[The Barber]

I'd mix in some better soil all the way around the base and fertilize for a year as well as weaken the long leggy roots, don't completely cut them off. The fine feeders are almost always at the end of those roots, and the tap root probably goes off for a long ways. By weakening the roots I mean, remove the cambium about 1/4-1/3 of the way around the long roots so that it will respond with roots closer to the tree. Then maybe 6 months later remove a bit more. You want to slowly weaken those big roots, not root slayer them off, as it probably has no feeders near the trunk. I have dug up a couple oaks that didn't have a feeder root within a ft of the base in any direction.

Get some soil under it where it has eroded as well.

Nice tree, but it may be a while before it is safe to collect based on those long roots I'm seeing in the photo.

 

[goldenginkgo]

I'd mix in some better soil all the way around the base and fertilize for a year as well as weaken the long leggy roots, don't completely cut them off. The fine feeders are almost always at the end of those roots, and the tap root probably goes off for a long ways. By weakening the roots I mean, remove the cambium about 1/4-1/3 of the way around the long roots so that it will respond with roots closer to the tree. Then maybe 6 months later remove a bit more. You want to slowly weaken those big roots, not root slayer them off, as it probably has no feeders near the trunk. I have dug up a couple oaks that didn't have a feeder root within a ft of the base in any direction.

Get some soil under it where it has eroded as well.

Nice tree, but it may be a while before it is safe to collect based on those long roots I'm seeing in the photo.

Appreciate the insight! I plan on visiting it again around Thanksgiving. I'll do some further assessment and I'll do some work as I go. The biggest challenge is going to be adding soil underneath -- I may build a makeshift silt fence. I knew the long roots would be a challenge. I'm hoping a tree of this size will send new roots aggressively, but time will tell. I plan on adding some superthrive to the fertilizer mix too.

 

[Colorado]

Great looking tree, I think it is definitely worth a shot. You may already be aware, but oaks are notoriously difficult to collect successfully. I have tried a few and none survived. However, maybe you will have better luck!

 

[Kanorin]

Great looking tree, I think it is definitely worth a shot. You may already be aware, but oaks are notoriously difficult to collect successfully. I have tried a few and none survived. However, maybe you will have better luck!

Agree. A big problem with them is that many send out a major large taproot that goes 5+ feet deep with few to no feeder roots within 5 feet of the soil level. If you have a decent amount of collectible fine roots, I'd say go for it in February.

 

[Maiden69]

I watched a video interview of Harry Harrington where he recommended collecting some deciduous in fall/autumn. Below is a quote from his website. Just some additional perspective on collection timing, as I think Mauro also recommended collecting oaks at a similar time and not on spring.

Quercus/Oak species

Oak species will often have a lack of fine roots close to the trunk and as a result can be difficult to collect successfully using ‘traditional’ early Spring timings. I much prefer to collect them from early September onwards while they are still actively growing roots. Collecting Oak when they become active in Spring is also successful, if the ground is still moist. Unfortunately as Oak are pretty much the last deciduous species to come into growth in the Spring, by mid-May to early June, the ground maybe too dry and day temperatures too hot.

Collecting Deciduous Trees For Bonsai In Autumn/Fall – Bonsai4Me

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