BOSTON -- It is being a called a horticultural drought. The second driest August in 122 years is causing tremendous stress on the area's trees.

NewsCenter 5's David Brown reported Wednesday that many leaves are starting to change. The look of fall can be seen in the canopy of some trees, and the sound of autumn can be heard underneath.

But look closely at many of the area's trees, and you see trouble. The fall foliage in some spots is a month early.

"The leaves, if you look at them, you can see they are wilting and you see a lot of leaf litter on the ground -- already brown leaves. These are not the lovely fall colors you expect to see," arborist David Ropes said.

This is the look of a horticultural drought, according Ropes. Combine no rainfall for weeks with several years of insect infestation and the sugar maples are stressed and some are dying.

"I think it's awful because I love the tree. It gives it a shade and it's an old tree. You don't want it to go," said resident Angela Paolucci.

But go it will. Paolucci's back yard shade tree has already lost many limbs.

"Cavities, this seam right here, and the decay that is inside the stem again it reduces the conductive capacity of the stem to move water up the canopy. Simply put -- this tree is a goner. This tree is a goner," Ropes said.

The window for the trees to produce and take in food is only three months. When you have a drought in the middle, the trees are in trouble. That's when you have to take things into your own hands.

Many larger trees need to be cared for delicately and trimmed often. Others simply need a good old-fashioned hand watering if your town permits it.

"We like to think of it as making fake rain. We're really trying to mimic the way Mother Nature would deliver water to the plant," Ropes said.

Older trees are more likely to be in trouble as they prove to be better hosts for insects and disease as a result of drought.