We have a line of pry dial oak. They about 20ft tall and been here for 8 years. This year one is blooming different. Where the leaves are coming out it also has little green fuzzy liking hanging this. Is there something wrong with this tree. Other trees are blooming as per they normally have in the past
Thank you for contacting the Toronto Master Gardeners about your Pyramidal oak (Quercus robur ‘Fastigiata’). I would need a clear close-up picture to be certain, but I think there is nothing wrong with your tree, and what you are seeing are its flowers! In the spring Pyramidal oaks (as well as other oaks and trees) produce hanging spikes of tiny flowers called catkins (sometimes referred to as lambs tails because that’s what they look like!). There are both male (which produce pollen) and female catkins on the same Pyramidal oak tree. Often these flowers are a greenish-yellow colour, sometimes brown, depending on the specific type of tree.
Below is a picture of catkins from the species Q. robur. If what you are seeing on your tree does not look similar to this, then please feel free to contact us again, and please include a clear close-up picture.
Enjoy your lovely trees !
May 11, 2023