I have a hard maple about 25feet tall. Each year the leaves are smaller and start falling the first of August. I have already lost one hard maple the same way. Ihave several more in my yard , what could be causing this and what can I do?

HI Jane, from your description it sounds like this tree has not been donig well for years. small leaves and early leaf drop are a sign of stress of some kind. maples can suffer from environmental problems as well as disease such as verticillium. further investigation will be needed to determine the source of the stress. I would recommend contacting your local UI Extension office and taking in a sample or send a sample to the UI plant clinic. please use this website to find the office nearest you http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/state/index.html and here is the website for the plant clinic. http://plantclinic.cropsci.illinois.edu/ hope this helps. Sandy