Help with grass growing in mostly shade

11 years ago

last modified: 11 years ago

I live in Colorado. In my backyard (faces east), grass doesn't grow well due to two trees that provide a ton of shade in the summer. There isn't a lot of direct sunlight in an area of about 30 feet by 10 feet under the trees. Other places the grass grows fine. It doesn't help that we now have a dog that has taken some of that grass out last fall. Two weeks ago, just before all the rain we've received, I spread organic lawn (Ace Shady Grass Seed Mix) fertilizer with a hand spreader, then planted plenty of shade type grass seed with the spreader and sprinkled a light layer of straw over that to keep the seed from washing away. In two weeks, some of the grass has sprouted, but now the leaves on the trees are starting to block out the sun, so I am thinking the grass coverage will be average, maybe about the same as last summer. Here is a question: I've heard of some kind of microbe or fungus (harmless to plants) that when spread over grass in shady areas assists in photosynthesis. Has anyone heard of any product like this? Other option is to keep spreading the same kind of grass seed all summer hoping more grass will sprout. I also have a few cans of clover seed I will probably mix in with the grass (I'm not a lawn purist -- I grew up in the country) as clover will help with biodiversity and help attract honey bees to the area. Plus clover does well in the shade.

Long term I'm thinking about having a concrete contractor put down a stamped concrete patio poured to cover much of the area and then put down concrete type pavers in the rest of the area, doing this work myself. This will also cut down on having to water part of the back yard, too (I can block out maybe 3 sprinkler heads for this). But we probably won't be doing this for at least a few years.

Also, in my front yard (faces NW), I have an Ash tree and the grass below it doesn't grow all that well, either. Grass grows well on the edges, but the grass just under the tree stays pretty short all season. Right now, it's getting a lot of sun as the Ash tree doesn't have all it's leaves, yet. I also fertilized this area. Any ideas what I can do here?

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Comments (4)

beckyinrichmond
11 years ago
No one else has chimed in so I'll bump this up where someone might see it. I have not heard of the fungus assisting grass in the shade. All I know is that grass does not thrive in the shade. Even the seed for shade (most likeky fine fecue) needs some sun. If it keeps failing, it might be best to use mulch, hardscape, or a ground cover that can handle shade.
Rook E
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
Fine fescues apparently do quite well in partial shade. This might help you: http://plantscience.psu.edu/research/centers/turf/extension/factsheets/shade
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neustkg
Original Author
11 years ago
Thought I would give an update. I purchased a shade blend grass seed mix from
Ace Hardware over a month ago. All I did
was spread an organic fertilizer (sold in Home Depot and Walmart) over the
area, then seed, then sprinkled straw over this. I did not rake the area at all. I hand watered for a few days (I only watered
once per day) until we started getting rain.
And boy did we get rain. We
pretty much live in an arid area where if you want grass to grow, you need to install
a sprinkler system. But In the last 4-5
weeks, we’ve had one of the wettest months on record. I made sure not to walk on the area where I
planted grass and had a lot of cooperation with my wife and kids and dog, and
now the grass is mostly grown to the point that it will probably grow. The leaves on the two trees have also grown
in, too, and are shading most of the grass.
The nice thing is that I have only had to water using the sprinkler
system a few days in May. Looks better
than previous years imo. My plan now is
to start mowing the planted area in mid to late June for the first time, and
continue sprinkling seed (and clover seed) on the area all summer approximately
every two weeks. Normally I don’t
fertilize and reseed in late summer, but I will do it this year just to see if
it makes a difference once the leaves fall off the trees this fall. I shut off and drain the sprinkler system at
about mid-October as we can start seeing freezes at about that time. So the only water the grass sees from that
time on is from snow melt if we end up getting snow.

As I mentioned
before, the ultimate plan is to probably put in a stamped concrete slab in back
to cover most of the affected area and I will probably put down concrete pavers
myself in the rest of the area in the shade.
This will cut down a lot on what areas we need to water.
beckyinrichmond
11 years ago
If your seed is a cool season seed like fescue or KBG, wait until late summer or early fall to plant any more seed. That is the best time to plant cool season grass.