Alright, I need to seed my yard. Problem is, much of it is in shade for most/all of the day and the dirt is somewhat hard.

Is there any type of grass that will grow in those conditions?

How about that coated-seed stuff that grows on concrete in the commercials (completely spacing on its name)? Would that work?

What about sod?

Help me local internet, you are my only hope.

5/11/2010 1:36:00 PM

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS304&=&q=what+kind+of+grass+grows+in+the+shade&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=what+kind+of+grass+gro&gs_rfai=

starting place

5/11/2010 1:38:24 PM

Quote :

"Problem is, much of it is in shade for most/all of the day and the dirt is somewhat hard. Is there any type of grass that will grow in those conditions?"

for the most part, no.


there isn't gonna be some super seed that's not going to care about your crappy growing conditions.

however you can improve those conditions by cutting down some trees (or at least some branches), getting your "lawn" aerated before planting...and maybe mixing in some topsoil/manure etc to improve the soil quality.

you weren't thinking about planting grass now were you? that's a fall activity. you'd *really* be wasting your time/money if you did it now, and only partially be wasting your time/money if you did it in the fall without doing things like i posted above.

5/11/2010 1:54:22 PM

^ What he said.

I ended up hiring an arborist to come in a remove 1 tree, and significantly trim another tree to get rid of the shade in the yard that was killing some grass. I grew up in a house that didnt have good grass because of old trees blocking out all sunlight, so I know how frustrating it can be.

5/11/2010 2:05:46 PM

i like my trees though

hmm, what are some grass alternatives

5/11/2010 2:27:25 PM

artificial turf

5/11/2010 2:32:45 PM

Quote :

"you weren't thinking about planting grass now were you? that's a fall activity"

Depends on the species of grass your putting down. This is the time of year to seed bermuda and centipede (these are not shade tolerant varieties). Fescue or bluegrass go down in the fall.

5/11/2010 2:36:24 PM

If this is your back yard, I honestly would rather have nice trees and shade and have the grass in those areas not be great than cut the trees to grow grass but that is just me. Definitely depends on the actual setup of your yard though. If this is the front you could trim some and see if you can't turn some of the shaded areas into mulched natural areas.

Also, (not that this helps in the shade) it is not too late to seed bermuda; in my limited experience this is still a good time to do it.

^ beat me to it


[Edited on May 11, 2010 at 2:37 PM. Reason : ]

5/11/2010 2:36:42 PM

is there anything really wrong with seeding fescue now? from what i read it seems that if you water it well enough (which i admit is tough in summer) it should be fine. i figure the worst that can happen is it doesn't grow. i'm gonna seed again in the fall either way.

[Edited on May 11, 2010 at 2:44 PM. Reason : oops]

5/11/2010 2:43:34 PM

The issue you run into is that once the ground temp gets to a certain point the roots cease to grow and the grass is very susceptible to disease and dying off due to the heat.

5/11/2010 2:48:45 PM

^^

I mean, yeah the worst that will happen is it will die, and if you try to keep it watered constantly you might be out hundreds of dollars in water bills.

Even if you watered in the a.m. and the evening, the heat of the july/august times of the summer around here is enough to severely stress if not kill young fescue.

I'm watering 3-4 times a week, and even having seeded in the fall I can see burned spots already this year in the driest spots of the yard (where the water drains poorly)

5/11/2010 2:55:55 PM

Quote :

"is there anything really wrong with seeding fescue now? from what i read it seems that if you water it well enough (which i admit is tough in summer) it should be fine. i figure the worst that can happen is it doesn't grow. i'm gonna seed again in the fall either way."

you'll probably have to water it daily throughout the summer...which I bet you won't keep up with...and I don't even know if that would work.

Quote :

"i figure the worst that can happen is it doesn't grow."

true enough...as long as you don't care about the money lost from seed/water/etc and your time.

5/11/2010 2:56:01 PM

My girlfriend just bought a house and her backyard is the same way. I figured I would give it a shot and planted http://www.turf.com/products/rebels-shady-grass-seed.php. I aerated the hell out of the backyard and planted the seed last Sunday (pretty late to plant, but it was the earliest chance we had after she moved in). I would have to say it is turning out much better than expected, and there are seedlings popping up everywhere. It's still early though, so I'm just hoping it won't die once the high 90 temps set in. The only difference I can see is that the soil in her backyard was very rich....so I would definitely try putting down some topsoil first. I know it's not ideal to plant right now, but I figured the only thing lost is about $50 in seed and half a days work. All I'm hoping for is to get at least a good base to work with in the Fall.

5/11/2010 3:06:43 PM

i have a tiller i can use to break up the entire yard if needed

would that be a good idea?

5/11/2010 5:02:27 PM

If you'd like to turn your yard into a watermelon garden.

5/11/2010 5:14:43 PM

^^ sounds like slow going, and i doubt it would be as effective as an actual aerator.

5/11/2010 5:20:56 PM

What about sod? Maybe something that's shade tolerant like Zoysia or St. Augustine.

5/12/2010 7:48:11 AM

Saint Augustine can't survive the winters here I don't believe.


And I don't think Zoysia is very shade tolerant. Some species are moreso than others, but I doubt they're going to survive and thrive in full shade. Either way, better have some $$$

Then again, I'm no expert and could be wrong on both.

[Edited on May 12, 2010 at 8:43 AM. Reason : ]

5/12/2010 8:41:48 AM

Quote :

"hmm, what are some grass alternatives "

You could do what my grandparents did. They basically used stones to build different levels in the yard and did a rock garden. In shady areas they would grow shade loving plants and things like creeping thyme or moss for ground cover. In areas with more sun they would grow vegetables, fruit trees, and sun loving plants. I wish I had pictures of it because it was amazing.

Anyway, while something like this would be labor intensive in the beginning, because you are basically making your yard up into micro habitats it would much easier to maintain in the long run than trying to maintain grass that wouldn't want to be there to begin with.

I recommend sitting down and talking to a Master Gardener as they can really help you with selecting the best plants for your yard and your area. It's also a good idea to do a shade chart before meeting with the Master Gardener. Basically draw up a schematic of your yard and every hour or so track what is in the shade. Just have a BBQ one weekend and do the tracking while grilling and drinking

Here's their website: http://www.ncmastergardeners.org/

5/12/2010 9:33:09 AM

I've got St. Aug's growing in Raleigh.

5/12/2010 11:10:50 AM

Quote :

"Saint Augustine can't survive the winters here I don't believe"

almost all of rocky mount has st. augustine lawns. it definitely survives the winter here.

5/12/2010 11:12:53 AM

Quote :

"I've got St. Aug's growing in Raleigh."

Hmm...I figured it would get severe winterkill here.

I'm attempting to get Centipede to take over my lawn.

I currently have about 50% 'common' bermuda, 30 % weeds, 20% centipede.

I've been planting TifBlair seed and sprigging as much as I can, but it's just so slow to make any progress on this freakin bermuda. My lawn is a mess....I also have a yellow nutsedge problem which is going to be fun to tackle

[Edited on May 12, 2010 at 11:50 AM. Reason : ]

5/12/2010 11:49:32 AM