Question
I live in GA where we have had a record period of drought.  I looked up at one of our very tall hickory trees this evening and noticed that all of the leaves have suddenly withered.  Not just a few branches but all of them.  It appears to have just started, as the leaves are about half green still.  I'm shocked and am hoping that maybe the tree is just dealing with the drought by shedding its leaves early.  Is this possible, or might my tree have suddenly died?

Thank you.

Answer
I would say it was the drought that caused the hickory to drop its leaves. Hardwoods have the capacity to leaf out again if they loose their leaves from weather conditions. I would water the tree with 1 inch of water--place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop. Water about once each week this way unless it rains enough to wet the soil to two inches. You can also deep water with a watering probe--check with your local nursery for a water probe. Here is a web site describing this probe.
http://www.yardener.com/RootWateringTools.html