Laurel Oak: late June 2023 first picture, mid-July 2022 second picture.
Laurel Oak leaf detail.
I finally found this 15 gallon container tree at Houston Plants and Garden World and planted it on March 7th 2020. This completes my collection of native Oaks of this region of Texas. This oak was already leafed out when I saw it at the nursery on March 1st. The leaves are mostly diamond shaped with the widest part in the middle, and they have V-shaped bases, which distinguishes this tree species from the Darlington Oak whose leaves have U-shaped bases. The picture on the left below is from early July 2020.
Before planting this tree the leaves were already showing signs of chlorosis. Perhaps due to the fact that the tree was delivered on Tuesday and the pots were bone dry by the time I arrived home from a business trip on Friday? The wind has also been brutal since planting the tree which will wreak havoc with the fragile new leaves.
The Laurel Tree leafed out nicely in early spring of 2021. However, almost overnight, every single leaf became profusely dotted with diffuse yellow spots. The picture below is just before this happened.