Question: My St. Augustine seems to be hungry. It appears yellowed from a distance, yet fertilizer seems to make it worse. Iron hasn’t helped. It seems to be dying.

Answer: That has become one of the most common sets of symptoms in turf care. It’s probably gray leaf spot, a fungal disease. Look closely at the blades and the runners. If you see pinhead-sized gray-brown lesions that are diamond-shaped, that’s the disease. You’ll have to look closely to be certain it’s present. This has become a very serious threat to our St. Augustine, and it’s hard to recognize. It does, indeed, get worse after you feed it during the summer. Control it with a labeled turf fungicide, and avoid any high-nitrogen fertilizer in the affected area between mid-June and early September.