Hot and dry fall plunges Ohio deeper into drought, affecting trees

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - This year’s weather has not been kind on many of Ohio’s crops, from an early, very wet spring to a hot dry fall.

That is now wreaking havoc on some of the state’s trees.

“This is pretty uncommon to see this entire groups of trees here dropping so many leaves," said Tedd Bartlett, District Manager of Davey’s Tree Expert Company.

Bartlett said much of the area is experiencing the same problems with trees, including early changes of color. However, he says, we won’t be seeing as much of the yellow, orange, and red in the foliage, but a lot more brown, dead leaves on the ground.

“We’ve had an early, wet spring, compounded by a late, dry, summer, early fall. What we are seeing is the effects of this prolonged drought that we’ve had for the last three to four months,” he said.

There are some steps you can take to keep your own trees healthy, Bartlett said, including practicing “deep watering,” adding enough water to tree roots so that it will be absorbed into the roots.

That will help, but Bartlett says, we’re still in for a season of trees drooping a bit more than usual.

“It’s very early and abnormal for this time of the year," he said.

Trees aren’t the only plants affected by the drought conditions. Soybeans have also experienced signs of damage, thanks to the hot, dry weather.

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