Wow! I'm glad this came back around. I think everyone has learned something since this thread was started. And now Houzz does notify you when messages you have posted on get more action. So maybe we can tune both of you up at the same time. You should not have to core aerate, ever, with very few exceptions. If you have hard soil there are chemistry reasons and biological reasons for that. The chemistry reason is most often an imbalance in the salts (magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium). Those can be addressed with a good soil test. The better lawn forums have been recommending Logan Labs in Ohio for soil testing for the past few years. Their $25 test is what you need. They will email the results to you. If you post them here morpheuspa will give you an extensive reading of the results and get you on your way toward soil perfection. The other reason the soil might be hard and clay-like is biological. There are fungi in the soil that will soften the soil for you once they have been well fed and watered. Spraying the yard with a surfactant will go a long way to allowing water to penetrate the soil and create the environment needed for healthy beneficial fungi. The surfactant can be anything but some are better than others. Ordinary shampoo is a good one. Any clear shampoo, like baby shampoo, will work. Spray the yard at a rate of 3 ounces of shampoo per 1,000 square feet and follow that up with 1/2 inch to 1 inch of water. Allow it 3 weeks to work. If you have other reasons for core aeration, please, lets discuss them. You should also not have to treat for insects unless you have found them in sufficient numbers to treat. The first clue you might have a grub problem is when you see beetles swarming your porch lights in May and June. If you see that then in July, before you see any damage, dig up a square foot of turf down to about 2 inches looking for grubs. If you see fewer than a dozen, then you don't have a grub problem. If you see an uncountable mass of them, then spray. Chinch bugs are more of a southern problem because they like hot soil, but it is possible to see them elsewhere. Spraying insecticide as a preventive measure is not good for the soil biology. Insects are an integral element of healthy soil. Spraying insecticide kills off the bad bugs, but if you don't have bad bugs, then it just kills the beneficial insects. I suspect both of you have watering and mowing height issues. Here's something I wrote a while ago that summarizes what I've learned over the past decade or so. Basics of Lawn Care After reading numerous books and magazines on lawn care, caring for lawns at seven houses in my life, and reading numerous forums where real people write in to discuss their successes and failures, I have decided to side with the real people and dispense with the book and magazine authors. I don't know what star their planet rotates around but it's not mine. With that in mind, here is the collected wisdom of the Internet savvy homeowners and lawn care professionals summarized in a few words. If you follow the advice here you will have conquered at least 50% of all lawn problems. Once you have these three elements mastered, then you can worry about weeds (if you have any), dog spots, and striping your lawn. But if you are not doing these three things, they will be the first three things suggested for you to correct. 1. Watering Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an inch in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. Do not spread this out and water for 10 minutes every day. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. If that does not work, then you might have to water more than once per week during the summer's hottest period. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds. You will have to learn to judge when to water your own lawn. If you live in El Paso your watering will be different than if you live in Vermont. Adjust your watering to your type of grass, temperature, humidity, wind, and soil type. It is worth noting that this technique is used successfully by professionals in Phoenix, so...just sayin.' The other factors make a difference. If you normally water 1 inch per week and you get 1/2 inch of rain, then adjust and water only 1/2 inch that week. 2. Mowing Every week mulch mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. However, bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses will become the most dense when they are mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. In fact there are special mowers that can mow these grasses down to 1/16 inch. Dense grass shades out weeds, keeps the soil cooler, and uses less water than thin grass. Tall grass can feed the deep roots you developed in #1 above. Tall grass does not grow faster than short grass nor does it look shaggy sooner. Once all your grass is at the same height, tall grass just looks plush. 3. Fertilizing Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 5 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less important than numbers 1 and 2 above. Follow the directions on the bag and do not overdo it (unless you use organics in which case you may overdo it without fear of hurting anything). At this point you do not have to worry about weed and feed products - remember at this point you are just trying to grow grass, not perfect it. Besides once you are doing these three things correctly, your weed problems should go away without herbicide.

I like the idea. Living where it is hot and dry, I removed the grass along the street, and where a driveway was on the side of the house (the garage is in the alley so I did not need a driveway). All of that is slowing being coverted over to plants. I have lilac bushes, lots of lavendar etc. The part of the lawn closest to the house has has 40% of the lawn removed and plants added. I would like to finish it some day. I left this smaller portion grass cause my dog does like sitting under a tree when I work in front. Where I live in Denver (an older neigborhood built in the 1910's and 1920's), it is very acceptable to convert the front lawn to plantings. As I drive to work, I see more and more people doing it. I love the look of a nice green lawn. On the other hand...I prefer what I have....esp with drought and heat With 20 different irises lining the front I had people stopping to compliment my yard this year. I say go for it...esp if you are in a desert-ish region. Mulching and weed barriers can do wonders for conserving water. Planting plans with the area around is slightly lower helps to retan moisture. Do it!

Run for your life! That plant sends out runners underground like steel. If you chop up the roots, each part grows back into more and more plants. I worked like a dog to remove a 3 by 3 foot patch. I saw an ad for vinca minor that said routine mowing will make it come back thicker and stronger - as if that was a selling point. They sell it around here as a ground cover. I call it a ground hogger. Here is a link that might be useful: vinca minor

As near as I can tell, the dying out has happened in either the same spots or at least the same general area since the year it was laid - June 2009. Is grass same all over lawn: The sod I requested was a blend of fescues and when in good shape is simply beautiful. Where I had some die out the first September, I reseeded with a product called Trifecta (a blend of fescues) that is sold by a local nursery as a 'top of the line seed'. I have since found data from a Kentucky Ag site stating their findings that what is listed on the Trifecta bag is NOT what is actually in the mix ! Makes me mad to think I might have been reseeding with something that wasn't good quality. Could either be that or my penchant for grossly over-seeding. Ooops. 2: Photos: I would give anything to post photos, but have never been able to get them to load to GW due to a slow and unfixable internet connection. I am able to text and email photos, just not upload to GW. I really think it would help if you could see what I'm talking about. I took pics the other day before going into talk with the lawn guy at a different nursery and he found them helpful. I've only dug in the areas where grass dies, but not deep. We finally got a little rain today, so first thing in the morning I'll head out to check with a screwdriver. Good idea. We did have the entire area tilled in 2009 before sod, so the area should be cleaned of such things, but saying that surely doesn't make it so ! If you have any thoughts about me getting photos to you, please share ! I just tried again and no dice. sigh.