Stubborn oak tree

[ButtNekkid]

Hi,

I have found a tree that does not seem to drop it´s leaves. Are there oak species that drop their leaves at spring?

All the leaves in the pic are picked straight from the tree. Do these look ok to use? Bottom right one has something grey on it? Is that a BIG no no? And the upper right has the twig still attached to leaves. Is that safe to use in aquarium?

There seems to be some green in the leaves "spine" when I picked them. They have dried a day and the green stuff is gone.

 

[gerald]

Not sure where you are, but in North Carolina most of our oaks are not shedding much yet; they're one of the last to drop, late Oct to early Dec. And yes there are evergreen oaks that shed in spring when the new leaves push off the old leaves, but I dont think your oak is one of those. Also, young oaks and beech often hold on to their leaves longer than mature trees do. Yes, they should be safe to use even if they hadn't fallen off yet. The main concern is to get them after the tree has extracted most of the sap and sugars from the leaves (stored for winter in the branches). If most of the green was already gone when you picked them, the sap/sugar content will be low.

 

[ButtNekkid]

Not sure where you are, but in North Carolina most of our oaks are not shedding much yet; they're one of the last to drop, late Oct to early Dec. And yes there are evergreen oaks that shed in spring when the new leaves push off the old leaves, but I dont think your oak is one of those. Also, young oaks and beech often hold on to their leaves longer than mature trees do. Yes, they should be safe to use even if they hadn't fallen off yet. The main concern is to get them after the tree has extracted most of the sap and sugars from the leaves (stored for winter in the branches). If most of the green was already gone when you picked them, the sap/sugar content will be low.

Hi,

I´m in Finland. Those leaves were already brown when I picked them.