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In the shade? I have a huge old oak in my front yard and I just can't seem to grow grass out there. I have some gardens out there to take up some of the space but some nice green grass would be nice too. The tree is large enough to block out most if not all of the sunlight and most of the rain. I don't mind watering but there's not much I can do about providiing sun light Does anyone have a great shade loving grass that they love? Help!
If it's the right temp where you are you could try an alternative to grass like Baby's Tears (Soleirolia).
It's not great for much heavy traffic, but it's very pretty, a lovely deep fresh green. It will creep up sides of rocks, pots and so on, which I think looks charming, and can invade other pieces of lawn but I have never found it to be a problem - quite the opposite.
There are lots of ideas on the web for alternatives to grass, such as Plant Answers
Last edited by southdown; 02-20-2008 at 05:13 PM..
Grass will have a hard time growing under your big thirsty shady oak.
I think you're on the right track with the gardens. The Southern Living Garden Book has lists of shade / drought tolerant plants - groundcovers include: liriope (monkey grass), vinca (periwinkle - some areas classify it as 'Invasive'), ophiopogon (mondo grass); perennials include: astilbe, dicentra (bleeding heart), hosta.
Steve Bender, an excellent and funny writer who was garden editor of Southern Living magazine for several years, wrote an article years ago about growing grass under trees. The gist of it was...it won't!
He wrote about how his parents would seed, re-seed, water, install plugs and sod...and nothing grew. Which was exactly what we had tried to do for years, with no success. The trees just soak up all the water, and oaks...they're acidic, I believe, and grass just won't grow!
Your best bet is to plant a ground cover, like the aforementioned liriope, periwinkle (vinca) etc. The bad news is, you won't be playing football on the lawn. The good news is, it'll be that much less grass to cut!
I had a similar situation in Maryland, and I tried creeping red fescue. It's supposedly drought tolerant, does well in shade and has a deep green color [like some of the nicer lawn grasses].
It did grow in, and although some of it became established, it was a tad finer than the existing grass so it didn't entirely match. I don't know if I would recommend it though, unless you had to have grass.
I think the shade-loving groundcovers are an excellent idea. I have first-hand experience with the vinca [periwinkle] and it is a winner. Evergreen, and beautiful blue flowers [I think you can get a variety with white flowers too]. It'll do great under the trees.
A large tree does several things to the soil around it that makes it a challenge to grow grass. Both of these remedies may be necessary:
Get a core plug aerator from your local rental store. The roots of a big tree can compact the soil too much for the grass to grow.
Ph test the soil. I'd bet it's too acidic. You'll want to add lime or potash when you fertilize. Since you just aerated, this will all sink into the ground quite well. ;-)
If that won't get you some grass under the tree, it won't grow there.
Most grasses need 6-8 hours of sunlight to grow properly. One exception is Saint Augustine grass which grows in lowlight or shady areas.
Trees are always the predominate plant and will take up the water and nutrients rapidly away from the grass and shrubs, unless you deep water on a regular basis.
Grass is generally a losing battle.
You could try moss. It will grow in the shade under the tree and very soft to walk on don't have to mow it or trim it either! The other options are "walk on me plants" you can search for that and come up with several different varieties and some grow very well in shade in that zone 6/7 area that you are in.
I had a similar situation in Maryland, and I tried creeping red fescue. It's supposedly drought tolerant, does well in shade and has a deep green color [like some of the nicer lawn grasses].
It did grow in, and although some of it became established, it was a tad finer than the existing grass so it didn't entirely match. I don't know if I would recommend it though, unless you had to have grass.
I think the shade-loving groundcovers are an excellent idea. I have first-hand experience with the vinca [periwinkle] and it is a winner. Evergreen, and beautiful blue flowers [I think you can get a variety with white flowers too]. It'll do great under the trees.
I've heard that Vinca is not appealing to deer...true??? I planted some under a big oak. Hope springs eternal....
I've heard that Vinca is not appealing to deer...true??? I planted some under a big oak. Hope springs eternal....
I don't actually know! If it's deer-resistant, it's really the perfect plant.
I grew mine in Albuquerque, and we don't have any deer in our 'burb, plus it's fenced in. But our neighbor back in Md. had planted vinca and english ivy in an unfenced area under a large tree in her front yard, and it was thriving.
You will love the beautiful, purple flowers!
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Does anyone have a great shade loving grass that they love? Help! 
