Well, as they're strictly speaking not evergreen...yes, it's true.

Probably not to worry, but you could be tidy and remove all the leaves to compost or burn as they fall. That'd be likely insurance.

Should I avoid pruning any stems at this point for flowering next year? I have experience with paniculata but this is my first "old wood bloom" variety.

Here's a picture, just in case anyone is curious. It's mostly on the lower leaves and on the far left branch there.

All oakleafs I saw this year on sale had leaf spot of some sort. I bought two. All in all, only a handful of leaves turned brown and dropped. And the upward growth rate of the plants outpaced the spread of leaf spot.

They're right - the next year's growth should reset, but you could spray routinely with fungicide after the leaves form to stave off further infections.

That looks a lot better than the one I had bought last year. The spots were not there when I got it but soon developed after planting it. I cut all the leaves off and it rebounded nicely. It bloomed .this year and hasn't shown any leaf spot.

I almost bought some this year but they had rust and I decided I was not going to pay full retail for them. I could not believe they would not give me a discount. Otherwise, they looked so gooooooood!!!!! LOL! :o)