QuestionI live in Toronto, my from lawn is 30ft x 25ft. Right in the middle is a large Linden Tree (2ft diameter at base-40ft high). I know a thing or two about landscaping because I used to be in the business, but the outside peremiter(4-6ft from the edge)of the lawn it grows great, but in kind of like a cirle pattern around the tree and going out, it dries up, browns, and thins out.
Its great in the spring and early summer , but from mid july on it goes bad, no matter how much I water, fertilize, put down top soil, or overseed it. Weeds are not an issue, the foliage of the tree is cut very high so sunlight is not an issue. My house faces east.
Is the tree the problem here, ie.is it sucking all the water out of the grass? The only thing I have not done is aerate, but the ground there does not seem to be that hard.
Answer I am not familiar with the tree and Canadian conditions but every comment I have read indicates that shade is a common cause of turf decline under the Linden (Tilia spp.) tree. It could be that between Jun. 21st. and Dec. 21st. the angle of the sun, the shadow of the tree and /or the house all come together to offer more shade to the turf; hence the turf decline. But that is speculation on my part.
