Q. Dear Neil: We have a large Shumard red oak that seems to be competing to be the last tree to leaf out on our block. Some branches have many leaves, while others are sparse. Is this a result of the cold or could there be other things going on? A. Thereâs always a chance of other things being involved, but Iâve had scores of questions about this over the past month. In consulting some of the stateâs most respected arborists and foresters I keep hearing the caution of âpatience.â Theyâre saying our trees may not be functioning completely normally until we get into summer. If itâs anything like the latent drought damage we experienced after 2011 (effects that were still showing up several years later), it may go on longer than that.