ST. LOUIS–(KMOX)–With no rain for two weeks, and hundred-degree temperatures lasting for over a week, St. Louis area trees are taking a beating.

“In my ten years in forestry this is probably the most drought I’ve witnessed,” said Forestry Commissioner Greg Hayes.

Hayes says sycamores, maples and other thin-leafed trees are starting to brown up in the heat, and some are already dropping leaves.

Greg Hayes, St. Louis Commissioner of Forestry

“There could be trees that die,” Hayes said, “I would venture a guess that the ones that we’re going to lose are the newly-planted ones.”

Hayes recommends city residents water their trees at night with a slow-drip method, either from a hose or a five-gallon bucket with holes poked in the bottom.

Blessed with the Mississippi, city water customers pay only a flat monthly rate for water, with no additional charge for how much water they use.

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