Creating a Green Lawn

[Roger]

I'm about to move to a new house. This house has two huge oak trees in the front yard, the problem being the prior owners (who I've known my whole life) were never able to get a full green lawn due to all of the shade. I there some grass that might be able to grow better in this environment?

Cutting down the trees is not an option as it is against the deed restrictions and other reasons as well.

 

[Jellydonuts]

Roger,

First, I am glad to hear you are not considering cutting down healthy oak trees for a better looking lawn.

What kind of turfgrass do you presently have? St. Augustine and Zoysia should be able to handle some shade, while bermuda will not.

I have the same problem in my back yard with a Pecan tree and could not even get St. Augustine to take. I ordered a new hybrid called ShadowTurf that was developed at Texas Tech. It is supposed to take 80-90% shade. I put this down during SXSW, so I guess it has been about two months. It comes in plugs and spreads. They claim it will take a full growing season to cover the yard. At this point it seems to be doing its job, but I am not willing to proclaim success just yet. It sold by a company called Turfalo in Lubbock. It was pretty expensive, so you might want to check it out with your local nursery or with me in about six months. Unfortunately I could not find anyone that had tried it yet, so I just took the blind plunge.

 

[UnBiased Horn]

I have the same issue, two huge oak trees with pretty patchy St Aug grass in the front yard. I have lived in my house for a year and the previous owners (flipped the house) laid down new grass in some areas. I can tell that the SA has started spreading and the patchy areas are less than before so right now I am going to play wait and see. I can tell the more I water it the better the grass grows and becomes greener, but I have to do it more than just the 1"/week that most suggest on here, depending on rain. I live in Houston so we got a lot of rain last summer and not so much these last 2 months. This fall I will be pruning the trees and trying to allow for as much sun as possible without losing the greatness of having the oaks in the first place.

 

[Brak]

I'd recommend not planting grass. Enclose the trees with a nice edging and put a bunch of bark mulch and be glad you don't have to water to cut that area. If you want something green there are several ground covers that tolerate shade.

 

[Roger]

I'm pretty sure it is St. Augustine.

 

[UnBiased Horn]

PC,

Is aeration something you can do anytime of year or is there a better time than others?

Do you do it yourself or get others to do it for you?

 

[brntorng]

This is easy. Use a shade tolerant ground cover. If you want a grass look, use Monkey Grass. You can mix in a few other shade tolerant plants and turn it into a nice looking feature. Good to see you've ruled out removing the trees.

 

[campwillben]

The higher the branch line, the better the chance you'll be able to grow grass under the tree. This is all realtive, but if the tree is trimmed propery, it shouldn't be to hard to grow a grass like St. Augustine under the tree, I would think a branch line of at least ten feet would be condusive.

Bet then again, I'm drunk, so a grain of salt and all that.

 

[Roger]

good news...I went to the house this weekend to meet with a contractor and the current owners and the grass is starting to come in nicely. The former owners are deceased and the gentleman representing the estate had them come and clean up the trees for the first time in a long time. The grass is starting to come in nicely. Crazy thing, though I've been to this house my whole life and never seen this much grass in growth there.

 

[UnBiased Horn]

Roger,

So you think it is just bc they cut back the trees and there is more sun hitting the st augustine? or were they caring for the lawn a lot too?

 

[Roger]

the only thing that changed was cutting back the trees and then they put down some St Augustine seed. No extra fertilizer or anything else.