Can you post some pictures of the damage?

WATER! . . .Water . . .(gasp) water . . .

I don't understand. It's may 5th, so surely you have seen this progression right? It couldn't have happened overnight. It sounds like you need to water, but is that all? Have you side dressed the perennials? St Augustine is noted for requiring water and can't be ignored.

Agree...........WATER !!!!!!!!!!!!

A lot of us grew to depend on the spring rains and got complacent about watering, but once the rains stopped and the temperature went up it didn't take long to realize we have to water if we want to keep things alive.

In the DFW area, after a wet early Spring, we have not had significant rain in three weeks. . .

While I agree that the plants may need supplemental water, I wonder if that's really the problem here. Yes, we haven't had significant rain in three weeks and it's been warm, BUT Roxie says this is an established native/drought tolerant yard. Surely it can go three weeks without water without croaking on her! Unless, of course, the plants were used to a regular watering schedule that was abruptly ended in the middle of last summer's drought. Maybe that would have taken this long to make its presence known?

Probably the former owner told you that the garden was drought tolerant and that she never waters, but in actuality she was watering weekly, after all, she had the house on the market and wanted it to look it's best. You move in, believing the former owner, and don't water. In less than a year you are losing the garden and the lawn.

It may be water, but I've got the same plants in my yard, grown this year with no supplemental water yet and they all look good. I'm thinking it's something else. Maybe a neighbor sprayed a herbicide on a windy day? Check the yard south of you and see if there is anything to indicate they sprayed something.

I'll be watching this post since i'm in Austin and it's darn dry! While my garden is still in the planning stage, it's good to know things ahead of time in terms of prevention.

I would at least *try* a little water~~can't hurt. ;o)

You can't simply abandon aster and calylophus in this kind of weather, much less St. Augustine.

I firmly believe that in the heat of our Texas summers, EVERYTHING benefits from some water. That is my theory and I am sticking to it.

Sure, it can't hurt. Maybe we'll get some tonight or tomorrow.

In east Texas we got 3.5 inches of rain last night - yippee!

Here in Copper Canyon, we did not get even a "sprinkle".

We got .14. I'm watering now. At least it's cool today.

I have many of the same plants and I do not think the issue is water, unless it is overwatering. I have not watered my plants (other than recent transplants) since early September 2011 and they are thriving. I did have an issue on a few plants with a red bellied beetle that I did not take the time to identify. They turned my plains coreopsis into crispy critters.

Get down on your hands and knees. See and feel what is going on. Look for bugs, dig into the soil to make sure it is not too dry or wet, look for curled or deformed leaves (sign of contact with herbicides) and know your plants and their requirements. Did you happen to apply any kind of weed and feed fertilizer? It's bad stuff.

Check the link for pictures of my garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plano Prairie Garden

I agree, pictures would be good.

I'll try to get some pictures. I moved into the house exactly one year ago today, so I was there through the heat of the summer and did water as appropriate.

I did hit it with some more water and things have perked up some, however, things are just not "right".

I've got "something" in the Saint Augustine that started about this time last year - the lawn was perfect when I bought the house in April and by May 21, 2011, the spot had appeared and continues to get larger.

I had put out winter rye and that sort of thatched up, so I've removed every bit of vegetation on that area - but I haven't seen any sign of any sort of insect/bug invasion.

And I reviewed the prior owners water bills, so if she was watering, it wasn't much :-)

Is the spot in the St Augustine roughly circular is shape? We almost lost our entire lawn last year to cinch bugs, heat and drought. They thrive in heat and drought. We've been using Bayer Lawn and Garden every two weeks even though I hate using chemicals. You can identify them by placing a damp white sheet or towel over the outer edge of the 'spot' overnight. Pick it up in the morning and look for bright red tiny bugs. They are horribly destructive.

On the other hand, St Aug can be susceptible to fungus and that would be more likely to affect your other plants as well.