How do I make grass grow?

[heatherbelle00]

My back yard is full of trees so I was wondering if there is anything I can do to get some grass to grow. Would shade grass work? Is it possible to get grass to grow where it is mostly shaded? About half of the backyard has grass. One dirt spot has no trees around it, so whats the best way to get grass to grow here?
Thanks for the help

Heather

[capelawncare.com]

where is simpsonville? you may get a plethora of different answers depending on your location. People from Wisconson may give one answer and people from south florida may give another

[heatherbelle00]

Simpsonville is in South Carolina.

[Marcos]

Heather...

Some probing questions 1st :

What kind of trees do you have mostly, do you know?

If they are deciduous (leaf bearing) trees, are you religious about keeping the leaves off the ground? ...be honest :)

Would you be open to a 'compromise' yard of sorts; where you have some grass in the sunnier areas and maybe shade-tolerant perennial ground covers in the rest of it ?
Otherwise...would you be willing to pay for selective thinning of the trees' canopies to allow for better light ? ( Don't have the trees 'TOPPED')

Also...

It may be helpful to post a few digital pics on here if you can.

[LawnTamer]

One other question; Do you have pine trees? Several pine trees have a natural soil sterilant which they release through the needles, it is very hard to get grass to grow under many varieties of pine trees, even if there is sufficient sunlight.

[Marcos]

One other question; Do you have pine trees? Several pine trees have a natural soil sterilant which they release through the needles, it is very hard to get grass to grow under many varieties of pine trees, even if there is sufficient sunlight.

True...but there are many shade-loving perennials and ornamentals that love that type of environment, including hosta, astilbe, pachysandra, azaleas and rhododendrons, just to name a few.

[heatherbelle00]

We have one Pine tree but it is in the back corner of the lot so its not a bother. Yes, I have all leaf bearing trees, mostly sweet gum trees and acorn trees (sorry I don't know the real name of trees :confused:), and I want to keep up with raking the leaves but there is just so many. When should I make sure the leaves are all up? Can I wait till the winter is over? I can not afford at this time to trim the trees. I just want more grass for my kids to play on instead of dirt.
Thanks for everyones help

heather

[Marcos]

We have one Pine tree but it is in the back corner of the lot so its not a bother. Yes, I have all leaf bearing trees, mostly sweet gum trees and acorn trees (sorry I don't know the real name of trees :confused:), and I want to keep up with raking the leaves but there is just so many. When should I make sure the leaves are all up? Can I wait till the winter is over? I can not afford at this time to trim the trees. I just want more grass for my kids to play on instead of dirt.
Thanks for everyones help

heather

"Acorn trees" are oak trees.
And if you are allowing the leaves to sit on the ground now you are probably smothering grass, if there's still grass there to smother.

Without seeing digital pics it's hard to recommend seeding.

Usually the typical scenario is that the seed will come up looking great initially, but the trees will gain the upper hand by mid to late summer as the thick shade gains control...

Trees filter out wavelengths of light that are needed by turf, and if the grass doesn't get them it grows 'shallow rooted' no matter what you do.

At some point in the near future, you're going to have to do some 'selective pruning' and / or think about converting some of your ground space over to ground covers or the like that could handle shade better.

You say you have kids... maybe to protect your future ground cover investment, just buy some colorful 1' x 1' stepping stones and tell them if they fall off the stepping stones they will plunge to HADES !! :laugh:
(my mom did stuff like this to protect her garden, and we obliged !!)

At the Ohio State U field days during the last few years, surprisingly it was turf type tall fescues that ended up showing the most 'resilience and longevity' in the shade trails.
But historically, shade blends have included things like creeping red fescue, hard fescue, and intermediate ryegrass.

Maybe for your area, a combination of the above might work.

[ericlemson]

Heather,

Being that I live near you, I recomeend the following solutions:

1. Clear cut your trees. This is the only way to guarantee that you will not be fighting the shade.

2. Add topsoil

3. Plan grass seed - Bermuda will work best in full sun.

4. If you prefer to have trees, simply replant them. I suggest seedlings though. Although they may take an extra 20 years to get to maturity,they will be stronger and look nicer.


IMO

[Marcos]

Heather,

Being that I live near you, I recomeend the following solutions:

1. Clear cut your trees.

Geesh !
A little brash, aren't we ??

Some good recommended reading for you might be the late Dr. Suess'
'The Lorax'.

:cry:

[jkingrph]

Don' t clear cut. Marcos does not realize how valuable shade is in the south.

You probably need to remove some trees, posibaly thin the crowns of others. It's not inexpensive and you need a good arborist or tree service.

Remember, trees compete for soil moisture and will win over grass, as well as winning the contest for sunlight. Grass needs light and water and you have to get it three for it to grow,. Good soil helps.

I have somewhat of the same situation at my house here in E. Texas, some of my trees suck up so much moisture through shallow roots in my front yard, facing SW , that it is almost impossible to get good grass to grow. 30 years ago I planted wrong variety of oaks. Now the shade in the afternoons is far to valuable to consider removing trees, so I am content to live with a few bare spots. At least no children have to play there.

[Marcos]

Don' t clear cut. Marcos does not realize how valuable shade is in the south.



Oops jkingrph...You got the wrong name!
I would never advocate such an atrocity, picture or no picture!
:hammerhead:

And since Heather hasn't answered it may be immaterial anyway...

[jkingrph]

Oops jkingrph...You got the wrong name!
I would never advocate such an atrocity, picture or no picture!
:hammerhead:

And since Heather hasn't answered it may be immaterial anyway...

Sorry about that, I read your name of the thread you quoted.

[ericlemson]

Just kidding about clear cutting. I know heather. She wouldnt do that.

[topsites]

The secret is there is no secret, you want a beautiful lawn then it's going to cost 2-300 a year in supplies, per 1/4 acre.

The only way I get nice lawns in the woods is with a full annual treatment, usually in the fall.
Sure enough towards the next fall the lawn is about dead again but at least you have nice lawn for 80-90% of the year.

So I would aerate and overseed heavily every year, also a ton of lime and then some starter fertilizer, there's no doubt about it between trees and lawn the tree always wins, so it requires a heavier than usual maintenance program.

I recommend at least 50 pounds of seed per 1/4 acre, for starters, 100 pounds per 1/4 in bare areas wouldn't hurt.
Then, probably 50-80 pounds at 30-40% potassium content starter fertilizer, about 1-200 pounds of lime as well but it depends on the % nitro per pound (usually one pound of lime for every 10% nitro pound) and also double that in areas heavy with trees.
That's all 1/4 acre formulas.

You might also throw down around 200 pounds of gypsum per 1/4, more so if your soil is clay based.