Plant of the Day

Tuesday 15 November 2022

This walled garden provides Quercus dentata (Daimyo oak, Japanese emperor oak) with the perfect sunny and sheltered position. This deciduous tree has very large, thick leaves that turn orange and then hang on the tree through winter like brown cardboard, until the new foliage emerges.

The Daimyo Oak         The oldest documented Bonsai tree in America is a dwarfed potted Daimyo Oak (Quercus dentata). Also known as the "Abraham Lincoln" tree, it is believed to be the first bonsai to brought into the United States. This Lincoln tree is also the oldest documented bonsai in this country.  It is said to have been presented to Anson Burlingame by the Emperor of Japan, who brought it with him back to the U.S. during Lincoln’s presidency. Burlingame had been the U.S. Ambassador to China and was returning home via Japan when he was presented with this Daimyo Oak. This tree had an obvious status and a certain age as a bonsai for the Emperor of Japan to present it to a visiting dignitary. 

Daimyo Oaks have rather large leaves that do not respond well to size reduction. So by current standards they aren't generally considered good material for bonsai. As an historical example, it is a good example of styles and tastes change.  It would appear when this tree was presented to Burlingame it was acceptable to have bonsai with large leaves.         

The tree spent most of its life as a patio tree growing in a large "100 year-old egg" container.  Many years ago, a Dr. Gotcher acquired it from a member of the Burlingame family.  When the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. opened the North American Collection of Bonsai in 1991, the tree was offered to the collection. It was however, turned down as it had become overgrown  and had "grown out" of it's training pattern.  

When the Collection-North opened in 1999, the tree was then offered to the Collection, and Curator, Kathy Shaner, gladly accepted the tree.  At the time it was over eight foot tall and quite "scraggly"....but Shaner began a program of training and nurturing.  The trunk, meanwhile, had its dead hardwood reamed out.  A contemporary description describes that "Now a furrowed and hollow trunk that has grown without any restraining binding for many years, its few browned oak leaves gracing its topmost branch like a rooster's comb, the gnarly tree rests humbly in a black metal tub at the newly opened Bonsai Garden at Lakeside Park in Oakland."  

The Daimyo Oak can she seen at the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt Bonsai in Oakland, California