Image - Wikimedia / Hutch10
When you start in the world of tray-worked trees, you do it with great enthusiasm and a desire to learn, but you don't always choose the right species. So so that you do not get discouraged, I am going to recommend purchasing a oak bonsai, because after the Ficus and the elms they are some of the strongest and most resistant.
Now, I'm going to explain all the care you need to grow up healthy and therefore keep its ornamental value high 🙂.
How is the oak?
First of all, it is important to know a little about oak as a tree, since this way we can know what to expect from bonsai. As well, oak is the name given to the trees and shrubs of the genus Quercus, which is composed of between 400 to 600 species distributed by the temperate regions of Europe, Western Asia, North and South America.
They usually reach impressive heights, 10 meters or more, but its growth rate is very slow. On the other hand, their life expectancy is very long, reaching more than a thousand years. Its crown, wider or narrower, is made up of generally deciduous leaves. And the fruit is the acorn, edible in many species.
How do you care for oak bonsai?
Image - Flickr / Ragesoss
As bonsai, the OakIt has relatively small, deciduous leaves and is very resistant. His cares are:
- Location: outdoors, in full sun or in semi-shade.
- Substratum: 70% akadama +30% kiryuzuna.
- Irrigation: 4-5 times a week in summer, and every 3-4 days the rest of the year. It does not tolerate waterlogging, but it is more afraid of drought.
- Subscriber: with specific liquid fertilizers for bonsai.
- Style: forest or as a single specimen with vertical trunk.
- Pruning: at the end of winter when the buds start to emerge. You have to grow 8 pairs of leaves and cut 2 or 4 pairs. Branches that intersect, those that have grown too large and those that are broken, diseased or weak, must also be cut.
- Transplant: in spring, every 2-3 years.
- Pests: mealybugs and aphids.
- Rusticity: it resists frosts down to -12ºC, but temperatures over 30ºC can harm it. It is not adapted to the conditions of tropical climates.
Enjoy your bonsai!
