Trees in the Foothills have taken a bit of a beating this year with a hot and dry spring and plenty of hail this summer.

Some are beginning to show yellow leaves which residents may be taking as an early sign of fall.

Gordon White, urban forester for the Town of Okotoks, says while trees generally start to shut down at this time over the next couple of months, they could yellowing due to a lack of moisture.

"The season started out really dry and we've had some moisture and it looks like the moisture is starting to get deep into the soil profile but when you get hard rains that run very fast a lot of it runs off and doesn't soak into the ground as effectively as it would if it was a slow, steady rain for a couple days."

He says trees who's health is starting to decline can also start to show yellowing leaves around this time of year.

There's a few steps residents can take to make sure their trees stay in good condition.

"make sure trees don't dry out and have adequate moisture but don't always just assume that because we've had lots of rain that the ground has moisture in it because depending on the type of soil it could run off very quickly," White says. "If the soil is moist there's really nothing to do other than let them take their natural course of action."

White adds another option is to use mulch around the base of the trees.

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