Cork Oak Quercus Suber How to germinate many in a small container

     Space can be a precious commodity right? Or, who wants to dig up their garden or make long furrows in their yard? At its most rudimentary level bonsai is the art of keeping a plant in a tray (bon=盆=tray, sai= 栽=planting). So, why not start seeds in a pot?  Where I work we have about six cork oaks. Last October and November I collected as many acorns as I could. Many were devoured by the immense lawn mowers used to maintain the grounds.

collected on two different dates

     They were soaked for three days. All the floating acorns were removed  which was more than half of what I collected. After which I put them in zip lock bags and tossed them my refrigerator. I checked on the bag a few days ago and noticed the radicle sprouting. They had been in the refrigerator for about twelve weeks.

I was surprised to see green on the shell

This one was missing its shell. it is still viable and is germinating

      I will be planting 12 Acorns. After planting, the acorns will grow their tap roots first. Then they will grow the stem and leaves. The first time I grew cork oak I thought I had lost all of the seeds. It took many weeks to see anything. I waited and kept hoping. Then one day they started peeking through the soil. Needless to say I was very relieved.

     I'll be using a taller pot to grow the acorns. The tap roots are long and I'd rather they didn't tangle. The roots grow long, but after the stems grow from four to six inches I will chop off the excess root.

     For the soil I used fibrous organic material. All the fine matter was sifted out.

    The acorns were placed all in the same direction. I squeezed the two in the middle facing six o' clock.

     More soil was added until the acorns were barely covered. The reason for this is that the acorn is like a horizon. The root grows down from the acorn. Likewise the stem grows up from the acorn. So, it is better to bury them shallow. You want to just cover the acorn so that the radicle stays moist and start growing down.

     I added a little bit more soil. See the acorn just peeking through in the back? I added a little bit more cover for the acorn. I soaked the pot in water until it started to feel much heavier. Then I placed the pot in a shady spot. At this point direct sunshine is not very important.

   
     After six to twelve weeks you should see this:

These are California coastal live oak

     The picture above is actually California coastal live oak. I used the same process on these acorns. Cork oak leaves are much smaller and darker. These oaks come from an oak tree in Claremont CA. The acorns were long smooth with honey and brown stripes down the length of the acorn. They were very beautiful. I was reluctant to plant them, but what good is untapped potential? The live oak started to sprout in greens and reds. They were also beautiful. The leaves are big, soft, and supple. I would venture to say that if they are not a specific variety then they are some sort of hybrid. Yet, that is a topic for another post. Cheers.

Nursery Lantana Pre Bonsai

     When I was a kid I hated this plant. I hated its smell, its coarse leaves, and that sphere of green and blue berries it left. When I started bonsai i read that Lantana made great indoor bonsai. However, because of my prejudices i would not consider that species as possible bonsai material for my collection. Then one day i was looking at plants at one of my favorite nurseries when i found the discounted section. There I saw a lantana with amazing taper and these itty bitty leaves. It changed the way I saw Lantana forever.
     So, last weekend I saw this little tree:

Lantana Camara

     The price for this tree was almost $7 U.S. I do not have a lot of disposable income. The more inexpensive I can get a tree the better. I am the first to admit that the branching needs tremendous amounts of work, but the trunk at least to me is superb. The trunk has a nice thickness that tapers and curves. I am picturing broom style for this tree.

Long way

     This is a close up looking down at the tree at an angle. I love those knobby places on the trunk. Lantana are considered weeds in some places. They are fast growers if well watered and fertilized. If planted in the ground and established they can be drought tolerant. By the end of this growing season this tree should have good ramification. Ramification is when you have branches, then you have smaller branches growing on those, and even smaller branches growing on those. This helps reduce leaf size, and gives the tree a good silhouette.

Close Up

    After I see new growth I will prune the tree to the desired length ad watch it grow. Cheers.

Update May 15, 2016

Here is the tree three months later. I have cut it back once a month and fertilize it every two weeks. It has very little ramification and that is what I will be working on. However, as you can see it has a lot of foliage and the placement is much better.

Update October 1

Well, This little tree has come a long way. Not only has it changed its appearance, but it has survived calamity. In july as I was watering the garden the hose fell on it breaking off the apex. Then a recent heat wave almost defoliated the whole tree. 

Broken Apex

I was going to give it away as a gift. I couldn't because of these setbacks. Yet a month later the growth was so much that I had to cut it back. Even with constant pruning the branches had grown too big. I cut off about one fourth of the overall size. Now two months after I snapped the apex I have this:

Its coming back

I bought this little tree which measures now about ten inches for six U.S. and change. It needs a bit more to go. It will be potted in a ceramic pot next late february. Here is a picture for my friend Luke:

Before and After

I started working on this tree in february. It has come a long way in eight months.