Growing grass in a shady area on your property can prove to be difficult; especially when you are starting from scratch. Within this post I will share some trade secrets that will help you grow a healthy lawn in a shaded area!
Growing Grass in a Shady Area
Growing grass in a shady area is a common task faced by home owners in Columbia, South Carolina. If your property is located in downtown Columbia, it is not uncommon for yards to be shaded by a canopy of oak trees. In suburbs, properties face shade cast by large pine trees. In either situation you will be growing your turf grass in a shaded area. Below are some tips and strategies you can use to help your lawn thrive in a shaded environment.
Aerate Your Shady Lawn
Aeration is a process in which holes are punched in to your lawn. These holes allow for the roots of the grass to be exposed to open air. Shaded lawns especially benefit from aeration because the hole punches allow for water and fertilizer to reach the roots and be absorbed by the plants faster.
The time of year you choose to aerate depends on the variety of grass your lawn consists of. Warm season grasses such as Bermuda or Zoysia need to be aerated in the late spring or early summer. Cool season grasses like Fescues should be aerated in the late fall at least four months prior to the first frost.
Fertilize your Shady Lawn
Grass being grown in a shaded area requires one half to one third as much fertilizer as grass grown in sunny conditions. Therefore it is important not to over fertilize. I recommend using an organic fertilizer such as composted clippings as an alternative to chemical fertilizer. Simply sprinkle compost over the lawn in the late spring to give your lawn a boost. For an additional boost add the organic compost after you aerate so that the lawn can absorb the nutrients faster.
If you are using chemical fertilizers try to use half as much as recommended by the manufacturer.
Water Your Shady Lawn Strategically
Everyone in Columbia knows that watering your lawn in the summer time is a must. But what if your lawn is in the shade? Lawns in the shade require less water than lawns exposed to constant sunlight. For this reason, watering should not be done too often. If you water your shaded lawn too much it could start to rot and be overtaken by mosses.
A strategy that has worked for my lawn is watering thoroughly about once every three days(without rain). Watering thoroughly, less often, results in deeper root growth and a healthier overall lawn.
Grow Your Shady Lawn Higher
Due to limited sunlight in shady areas it is important that you let your shaded lawn grow higher. If you cut your lawn to short in a shady area, the plant will not be able to absorb the sunlight it needs to grow thick and healthy. When mowing your shaded lawn, you should cut it about an inch higher than you would normally cut it.
What if Nothing is Working?
If you cannot establish a healthy lawn no matter what you try leave a comment below and we can try to help you out. If you really don’t think that you can get grass to grow in your shaded area, you can always consider creating a landscape in the shaded areas instead of a lawn. Those who are interested in installing a landscape have wide variety of landscape architects to choose from that can help you develop the landscape of your dreams.
Another great option is a patio or fire pit in your shaded area.
Let us know if you have any questions about growing grass in the shade in Columbia, South Carolina!
