English oak

English oak grows slowly in a pot and develops thick, deeply furrowed bark only after real age, so most oak bonsai are grown for decades before the trunk reads as convincingly old. Large leaves reduce somewhat with repeated defoliation but never to the scale a maple or elm reaches, which shapes the whole approach to styling one.

Care at a glance

Watering

Check daily in growing season; water when the surface starts to dry. Roughly every 2 days in spring, 2 in summer, 3 in autumn and 6 in winter.

Light

Full sun.

Winter

Fully hardy; slow to recover from hard pruning, so plan cuts carefully. Protect it when the forecast drops below -18 °C.

Feeding

Every 21 days, Apr to Sep, paused in the hottest weeks.

Repotting

Every 3 to 5 years, as buds swell, in Mar.

Growth

Slow growing. Hardy in zones 4 to 8.

The work calendar

Styles that suit it

ChokkanHokidachiMoyogi

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