GILMER, Texas — The lack of rain over the last few months has resulted in severe or extreme drought conditions in parts of East Texas.
Matt Holmes with H&H Lumberjack Co. explained how to maintain trees in your yard and what signs you should be looking for if your trees are in poor condition.
"We are experiencing a lot of drought stress," Holmes said. "A post oak that is experienced full die back due to drought."
A tree that is dormant will drop all the brown leaves and keep the green foliage, while a tree that is in full die back will hold on to those brown leaves.
"So this is wilt. When these trees have some sag here, and we have a tree wilting like this, that’s a sign of some drought stress," he said.
Holmes said his business has seen an uptick in calls from people with dead trees on their property
"A lot of times when they call me it's too late, which is why it's very important to know some of the signs so that you can prevent that," Holmes said.
Holmes said if people have dead leaves on the ground, it's not a good sign because of this heat and the drought, but they can still save some trees.
Holmes recommended watering trees two to three times a week for a couple of hours with a drip or soaker hose to prevent the trees from complete drying through the summer months.
"Really, let's just get through this heat with plenty of water. You really can't water enough for the tree. But we can mainly hopefully prevent any type of die back," Holmes said.