Hey! I'm totally new to the bonsai art, but am keen to know more! I was given an oak sapling last spring, which had some roots removed and the top third chopped off before beung planting in a little bit of soil. It lost the two leaves it had (but I assume that's natural winter behaviour) and I now see some buds forming up the stem.
My question is how to proceed? Will the buds eventually form branches? When should u begin wiring? Perhaps I should leave it as it is for another year for it to grow?
I've attached pics if its current state.
Thanks!

if you are being serious about this..

plant it outside in your garden for 10 years and prepare it for becoming a pre-bonsai
until than, there's nothing else even remotely connected to bonsai you can do with it..

don't keep it inside as it will die.. it's a Oak!

Thanks for your reply!
I am serious, it was given to me by a gardener friend as a graduation present so has a lot of sentimental value.
I will transfer it outdoors as you suggest. Should I pot it in more soil?
I'm a total beginner, so it would be helpful to work out how to know when the plant is big enough to begin restricting its size?

Ooi wrote: I'm a total beginner, so it would be helpful to work out how to know when the plant is big enough to begin restricting its size?

You've got a couple of years to work that out.
Your first concern is keeping it alive. Your second concern is how to make it grow abundantly.

When you transplant it, you may consider removing the tap root. Look here (not an extensive description of how to grow a bonsai from an acorn, but I think it'll get you started):

www.angelfire.com/ca2/diablobonsai/oaks.html

I found that by using Google - 'oak bonsai from seed'.

Ooi wrote: I'm a total beginner, so it would be helpful to work out how to know when the plant is big enough to begin restricting its size?

what exctly wasn't clear about

plant it outside in your garden for 10 years and prepare it for becoming a pre-bonsai
until than, there's nothing else even remotely connected to bonsai you can do with it..

Ooi wrote: oak sapling last spring,

It really isn't even a sapling yet, barely a seedling, i wouldn't worry about pruning and wiring for a few years. there is a bud on there though.

Oaks do not grow very fast, they do live long though.

Yes the tree is Oak and Oaks are deciduous and should be outside and we as bonsai artists often take a smaller seedling like what you have and indeed plant it in the ground for a few years to attain trunk caliper, but its not absolutely necessary. If you wish to enjoy the tree as it is first yes I can see that it does have a couple of buds on it and if you indeed wish to leave it like it is then I would suggest repotting it before the buds form into leaves and put it into a much smaller pot the one its in is most defiantly over kill.

Let the tree grow and form more buds and leaves and then repot again the following year and so on once it is three to four years old then you could wire the trunk to get some style going and work the tree from there.. Just be patient as oaks do grow very slow.

Okay, so I’m about 8 years in and my oak has been producing abundant foliage and long shoots which I’ve been cutting back every year. I’ve never moved it from the clay bed where it self-seeded (presumably from the mature oak across the road that looks like it’s been coutured into a large lollipop over its lifetime) nor have I interfered with its roots in this first 8 years of its life.

Please can you advise what to do over the next couple of years till I get to the magic 10? And, if you wouldn’t mind, I’d also be immensely grateful for any tips on getting it in to a pot at the appropriate time, please.

Thanks for your advice all those years ago. Hope this reply reaches you and finds you well…

David Ch… 

Hi David, perhaps post some photos?

Hi David, 

It's good to see you're still interested after all these years.
If you're really serious about getting into bonsai, I'd suggest you do a lot of research as there is a lot more to learn than we could get across on a forum. To that point I think you've been given some misleading advice in the past, as Oak grow very deep tap roots so getting it out of the soil will be a lot harder now than if it had been managed from an early age.

I highly recommend the courses offered on this website as Oscar and the team put a lot of effort into them and they are full of helpful information. For now, take a look at the Oak species guide ( www.bonsaiempire.com/tree-species/oak ) and the other resources (pruning, repotting, etc.) at the top of the page.

One thing to bear in mind is that your tree would be considered "pre-bonsai" so you don't need to go and put it in a tiny pot until it's ready. I might even call it "yamadori" or 'wild material' as it hasn't had any sort of training, so maybe look up how to harvest Oak yamadori. Luckily for you, the right time to do this for Oak is in spring before the buds open, so you could consider getting it out of the ground and into a regular plant pot this year.

I hope this is helpful, I would also like to see some photos.
BL