The Best Grass for Shaded and Poor Soil

Preparations and Care

• Lawn grown in partial shade needs only half the nitrogen as lawn grown in full sun. If you fertilize your lawn every year, give the shaded area only half of the amount given to the sunny areas. Let the grass grow to a length of at least 3 1/2 inches so that there is enough blade space for limited photosynthesis. If debris falls regularly from the trees, rake it up to keep the lawn exposed to as much light as possible. Just as shade grass does not need as many nutrients, nor does it need as much water as grass grown in the sun, so water only in very dry conditions.

Fine Fescue

• Fine fescue is a fine-bladed thinner grass that tolerates shade during the cooler seasons. If you add about 50 percent of this seed to your normal grass selection for the shady areas, the fine fescue will fill in the sparse areas where normal grass is slow to grow. Reseed as needed in the spring and late summer to keep a full lawn.

St. Augustine Grass

• St. Augustine grass is a warm season grass that tolerates shade better than other lawn grasses. This variety of grass will grow year-round in areas with mild winters but will die off over the winter when the ground freezes. Adding this heat-loving seed to your shade mix in the spring will help keep your shaded lawn healthy even when the summer temperatures seem to scorch the cooler season grasses.

Zoysiagrass

• Zoysiagrass grows almost too well during the warm season. Unlike most plants, it still thrives in poor soil and needs little care or water. It does not retain its color during the winter, and it does have an invasive quality. If these problems are not an issue, Zoysiagrass will fill in areas of shade where typical grasses could not survive.