Another mystery plant

[StarbucksSmarterSister]

Any ideas? It appeared last year and is back. No flowers, no more than a foot tall.

Thanks.

Interesting it looks like a mini oak tree! Did you cut it back last year? I'm trying to think of a plant that has oak shaped leaves.

Chrysanthemums have oak shaped leaves but they are a bit smaller. But no flowers?

Looks very much like an oak to me.

Yes, a bird-sown oak, probably dropped by a jay or crow.

Look after it! Find a space that's a good size and plant it!

Away from your house of course!

Agree - at least thirty metres away from your house! An oak is a forest tree and shouldn't be anywhere near a house.

They grow in parks too, if you keep it under control and your garden isn't too small it should be ok.

That reminds me, we have a horse chestnut tree which is about a foot tall now and growing rapidly (thank you DD

Csn we take it and plant it somewhere in the wild or is that illegal?

The leaves are too big for an English oak and it's growing too fast, there are many types of oak.

OP do the leaves turn red in the autumn? If so it's a red oak.

I don't think it's illegal to plant one in a wood or park where there are other oaks. Give it plenty of space.

Why not the wild? Good idea!

at least thirty metres away from your house

My garden is barely 30 feet long, never mean metres!

It is no bigger than it was last year but if it is an oak then I'm afraid it will have to go before it gets any bigger :-(

Thanks for all the replies.

Yes they don't grow fast, it sounds like an oak to me. It might enrage your neighbours if you plant it, or let it grow,in your garden

It's a white oak. It has rounded points. A red oak has pointy points (IYSWIM).

Ten years of having to do an annual leaf collection at school had its uses after all!

I don't suppose this is relevant to your oaklet, but leaf size can vary depending on the size of the root system versus the top growth. Constricted roots give miniaturised leaves, but if for some reason there's a lot of root compared to the size above ground ( eg if a tree has been cut) then you can get much larger than normal leaves.

We've got an accidental oak tree in a pot (neighbours tree + squirrel!) which we're keeping to see what it does (haven't anywhere to put it) and a sapling which is too close to the house so will have to go - it's probably got the right trunk girth to make a good bonsai so we might ask a local enthusiast if he wants it rather than kill it.

Understand having an oak tree is a no-no - could you perhaps replant it somewhere it can grow? Maybe somewhere outside your garden or on common land?

There's churchyard up the road, otherwise it's very urban. Maybe there?

Love it - give it a chance at life
You could sneak in and quickly plant it!

Just a thought - you could dig it up and put it in a pot and leave it outside your house with a sign - free oak tree seedling - please take.
Bet someone who wants it and has space for it will have it.

onelong brilliant idea

I have fond memories of the year someone in our village left bags of cooking apples outside just in time for me to pass by - I had quite a few and we had crumble for a couple of weeks! Not the same thing but a good way to pass something on.