Dear Envy, Thank you very much for your inquiry. From my perspective, it sounds as though you have a soil incompatibility issue between the soil in your yard and the soil on the sod. The lack of rooting into the soil is a true indicator of this problem. It is not uncommon, and basically the further apart the soil texture of the these two soils, the more challenging the rooting, regardless of watering or fertilizing practices. Repeated Core cultivation treatments are the remedy for the issue. Your objective is to get rid of the distinct barrier or layering between these two soils. You will see improvement each time you cultivate, but it will take multiple passes. You can rake or chop the cores back into the lawn or pick them up, it is your choice. Again, thanks for the question and let me know if you have more. Respectfully Trey Rogers, The Briggs & Stratton Yard Doctor, YardDoctor.com

So far OK in Maryland. We were a bit dry in March and April, but May was wet and June around normal. So far in July we've had about 1.3" of rain and are on-track with more forecast stormy days this week. However this is a time of year we can turn dry quickly, especially when drought is knocking on our door (PA is dry to our north). Non-irrigated fescue lawns here look good, but KBG lawns are spotty (typical even w/normal rain due to heat). My patches of Zoysia look good, too. My wife, kids, and I were up in Massachusetts this past week. It is DRY up there. Lawns are straw-like, and the area we stayed in (near Lowell) is in Severe Drought category on the map above. Maybe New England can luck out with a weak tropical storm (that is a good rain-producer) that heads up the coast on the early side of the hurricane season.

I see you have a hose and oscillator sprinkler. That's an excellent start. What is your watering schedule? How often and for how long do you water? Did you fertilize yet this spring? Whether you did or not, now is the time to apply for the first time (or second if you did it in the early spring...which you should not have). Have you applied any herbicides or insecticides? If so, when, and what were they? As for your picture, we cannot see a thing at this altitude. You need to be 3 inches away, not 10 feet. And 3 inches needs to be in the shade or have someone cast a shadow where you are photographing. Get a picture with both green and gray grass. Rather than tease you, though, if this is a disease, regardless of which one, I would recommend applying corn meal at 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet. You can get corn meal at a feed store in 50 pound bags for roughly $12 or less this summer. Corn meal is a biological control that seems to work on St Augustine but not on other grasses. Try the corn meal before you try any chemical approach, because the chemicals ruin the biology rendering the corn meal useless as a bio control. Apply to the entire lawn, because you might not realize that the disease has infected the entire lawn. Also do the entire lawn, because corn meal is an organic fertilizer and it will leave deep green spots where you apply, so do the entire lawn. Once you use corn meal to cure St Augustine fungal diseases, you will completely stop worrying about it in the future. It is a complete solution and permanent...until you do something to let it happen again, which I seem to do annually :-( But at least I have a simple, safe, solution. Give the corn meal 3 full weeks to do the job. You will get very anxious about it for 2 weeks thinking nothing is happening. It simply takes 3 weeks, so relax. Between 2 and 3 weeks you will have forgotten about it. Then after about a month you will notice that "suddenly," the yard is perfect and deep green. Also if you are not already doing it, always mulch mow St Augustine at the mower's highest setting. You can let it go 2-3 weeks or longer if your mower can stand it. This will give you a deep rooted grass system that can withstand long periods of heat and go for days without watering. But do, please, tell us about your watering.

Sure, you can always plant another tree. But it will take years - maybe even decades - before it has the presence of an existing large and mature maple. And mature large shade trees are definitely an added value to any property. On average, a well placed shade tree in a front yard adds just over $7,000 to the property value according to a 2010 study done by the PNW Research Station. Since we can't see the tree, you are making assumptions that that it might be ugly or diseased or has any other issues. Or has outlived its usefulness, whatever that means. It could just as well be perfectly fine....except for the root issue. Which can be easily addressed by either mulching or planting a shade and drought tolerant groundcover. Any shade tree is a significant positive contributor to the environment. Trees contribute to their environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife. During the process of photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen we breathe. Trees control climate by moderating the effects of the sun, rain and wind. Leaves absorb and filter the sun’s radiant energy, keeping things cool in summer. Trees also preserve warmth by providing a screen from harsh wind. In addition to influencing wind speed and direction, they shield us from the downfall of rain, sleet and hail. Trees also lower the air temperature and reduce the heat intensity of the greenhouse effect by maintaining low levels of carbon dioxide. OTOH, lawns are generally considered to be drains on the environment. They waste water, they require copious amounts of fertilizers and pesticides to keep them looking green, lush and weed free and these tend to lead to pollution of streams, rivers and other waterways. And keeping them neat and tidy burns fossil fuels, which in turn releases greenhouse gases and other pollutants into the atmosphere. Maintaining a nice lawn actually contributes to climate change. So yeah, it IS a no-brainer!!