Generally, grasses don't prefer shade; they need a lot of sunlight. If you have a lot of shade trees or a lawn that receives low light, it's difficult to have a lawn full of grasses. Low light also affects a plant's strength, including its roots, rhizomes, stolons, and shoots. However, there are a few shade-tolerant grasses that homeowners can plant if there's a lack of light in their lawns. Being shade tolerant doesn't mean the grass can grow without light. It means shade-tolerant grass can grow with minimal light. In this blog, we share information regarding various shade-tolerant grass to help you choose one for your lawn.
Shade Tolerant Grasses
Here are 5 shade tolerant grasses that you can plant on your lawn with low sunlight:
St. Augustine Grass
St. Augustine is a deep-shade grass that grows in the warm season and does well in partially shaded areas. Some cultivars like Sapphire, Bitter Blue, Palmetto, and Seville can grow well in just 4 to 5 hours of direct sunlight every day. They need proper sunlight. Otherwise, they won't grow properly and will have a thinner appearance. The plant can also suffer from diseases. It also doesn't go well with other grasses because of its distinctive features.
Centipede Grass
Centipede grass is also a warm-season grass and tends to require a little more light than other shade-tolerant grasses. About 6 hours of partial sun daily is sufficient for this grass to thrive. Make sure that your lawn receives the necessary amount of sunlight required by this grass. The most shade-tolerant cultivars are Oaklawn and Tennessee.
Zoysia Grass
Zoysia grass is another warm-season grass perfect for medium-shade areas. It is best for subtropical climates and needs only 3 to 4 hours of direct sunshine daily. Geo Zoysia, Fine-blade Zoysia, and Zeon are good cultivars for shady spots. Varieties like Emerald Zoysia are not the best variety to grow in the shade because they grow slowly under shades and can be easily overtaken by strong weeds like crabgrass.
Fescue Grass
Fescue is a cool season grass that can grow in partial shade. It needs only 4 hours of dappled sunlight every day to thrive well because of its deep grassroots, which retains energy. Their growth is slow, but they stay green even in faint sunlight. All varieties, including red fescue, fine fescue, hard fescue, tall fescue, and Chewings fescue, thrive well in shade.
Rough Bluegrass
Rough bluegrass is another cool season grass that can thrive in just 4 to 5 hours of dappled sunlight daily. It can also handle cool and moist temperatures easily. But, it cannot survive in the intense summer sunlight. Also, it has better shade tolerance than other fine-bladed varieties of bluegrass.
Growing Grass in the Shade
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Get the branches removed selectively and the tree canopy thinned out by a certified arborist to increase the amount of sunlight. Remember not to remove more than ¼ of the foliage-bearing branches at once.
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Do a soil test in a shady area and apply lime and fertilizer based on the recommendations in the soil test result.
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Select the type of grass you want to plant based on its needs and requirements.
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Fertilize the turf once every year during the fall.
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Cut the grass at a minimum height of 3 inches, and don't mow during the hotter and drier time of the summer.
Weed and Disease Control
Mosses generally grow easily in cool, moist, and shaded locations. Physical or chemical removal of these Moses will only provide a temporary solution until the growing conditions are improved. On the other hand, seeds of weeds like crabgrass and goosegrass need a high amount of sunlight to germinate. Therefore, the use of herbicides is not important in high-shaded areas. Also, be careful while applying weed control; herbicides can injure trees and shrubs by root uptake or spray drift.
Some common diseases caused because of shade are Powdery mildew, brown patches or large patches, leaf spots, and melting out. Planting better shade adaptive grasses will help reduce the chances of such diseases. Also, using good cultural practices will help reduce damage caused by diseases. Use a mixture of grasses rather than a single cultivar to reduce turfgrass from disease.
