Larger Leaves On Oak Tree

Q: I noticed that one of the oak trees in our yard has leaves that are significantly larger than in prior years. Do you know why that might be? 

A: Larger than normal leaves could be caused by a couple of things. Typically it’s because the previous year’s environment was better than normal. Maybe someone gave it extra fertilizer or more water. Unusually warm or wet weather can cause trees to produce larger leaves than normal. It is possible that some source of shade was removed. The leaves of seedling trees are often quite large for a couple of years so they can grab all the sunshine possible and compete successfully with nearby plants. Let me know if you think of a cause other than these.