Is it Fall?

This maple probably won't live many more years. Notice the early leaf drop and yellow leaves.

It is officially September and the weather is cooling off. To top it all off, football games have commenced. These events likely leave many of us thinking Fall is here.

Not so fast. It is still too early for healthy trees to begin turning. If you have driven past a tree full of yellowish leaves and taken it as a harbinger of the season, you are mistaken. If you have trees in your lawn that are already starting to turn, give them a closer look. They may be suffering from disease or insect problems, or they may simply be getting old.

Early leaf drop/turn is a sign of a tree in decline.