Marianne's Response

Keeping a shaded lawn healthy

Hi Marianne. We live in Olympia on a small lot. We don’t have large trees but neighbors do and our house is 2-story. The nearby trees and our house keeps our yard shaded on all sides throughout the day. Our problem is the lawn. Our lawn is shaded on the east, west, and north sides. We are having difficulties keeping the lawn heathy. We have resodded the lawn twice. Last year we used a seed that was recommended at Home Depot (that didn’t work either). However the local sod company grass is not correct grass for our yard. Our lawn is shaded on the east, west, and north sides. We don’t know which variety in the sod dies but the reason is lack of sun. We need a grass variety that is shade tolerant as possible. Can you recommend a particular grass/sod that would grow well in our yard with these challenges? We are willing to go elsewhere to to purchase the appropriate sod if that is necessary. We look forward to hearing back from you.

Lin

Posted by Lin Powell on March 4, 2015

Marianne's Response

I wish I had an easy answer but lawn grasses need sun - at least 5 hours of full sun. Better to go to a moss lawn, or a groundcover like ajuga or pachysandra with pathways. You could also build mounds for planting shade loving shrubs and have gravel paths between the mounds. There is also artificial turf (really!) but in that much shade it would grow lots of moss after a couple of years. The good news is you get out of having to mow a lawn if you just throw in the trowel and use groundcovers in that heart of darkness. Keep Growing, Marianne Binetti

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