The Best Grass for Shade Around Pine Trees

Warm Season Shade Tolerant Grass

• Warm season grass types for shade around pine trees include bermuda and zoysia, according to gardening writer Walter Reeves. When choosing between warm and cool season grass types, gardeners must take their region's climate into consideration. Warm season grass grows best in places that receive hot summer temperatures, and cool season grass types do best in areas that have moderate summers. Plant either bermuda or zoysia grass in the late spring when soil temperatures have risen.

Cool Season Shade-Tolerant Grass

• Cool season grass types that survive shade environments consist of fescue varieties such as hard fescue, chewings fescue and creeping red fescue. Plant fescue grass seed either in early spring or in early fall. Gardeners who plant fescue in the spring run the risk of seedlings dying out from summer heat before they have had a chance to develop strong root systems. Also, keep fescue growing under pine trees slightly higher than the grass growing in full sunlight.

Soil pH

• Check soil pH to ensure that it is within a grass' preferred range of 6.0 to 7.0. Pines grow in a pH between 4.5 and 7.0. Gardeners must make sure that they raise the soil's pH if it is under 6.0 for healthy grass growth. Grass cannot absorb the soil's nutrients if it is grown outside of its preferred pH range. To check, conduct a soil pH test on the area. Apply lime to soil that is too acidic or sulfur for alkaline soil.

Needles

• Clean up needles that fall from your pine tree when growing grass. Needles not only make the soil more acidic but they also shade grass. Monitor the area around the pine tree. Rake up needles around the tree. Use the needles as mulch around the base of the tree to prevent nicking the trunk with a lawnmower. Gardeners can also use the needles as mulch for acid-loving plants or in compost.