Given the choice between relaxing in the scorching hot sun of a baking desert or the cool green shade of a grassy park, you’d pick shade, right?
Everybody loves shade.
But when you try to grow grass in shade, things get frustrating.
Even shade-tolerant grasses need at least 3 to 4 hours of direct sun, or 4 to 6 hours of dappled sunlight, per day.
If you don’t have enough sun, grass just won’t thrive.
Follow these tips on how to grow grass in shade:
1. Plan a Pruning Party
Give your shaded grass a break by pruning or thinning the trees and tall shrubs that shade it. As you snip, thin the canopy so that sunlight can make its way to the grass beneath.
Removing lower tree branches can help, too. Then sunlight can sneak in on a slant to reach the grass.
No wobbly ladders, please. Leave the high stuff to professionals.
2. Use the Right Grass Seed
How to grow grass in shaded areas? The right grass seed is important.
Here in Idaho we primarily use a blend of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial rye grass.
This blend can tolerate some shade and works in most situations. If a lawn has full shade, then a fine fescue can be brought into the mix, but our 80/20 blend usually does the trick.
Pro tip: Spend the money for quality grass seed. It really does make a difference. Cheap seed often includes weed seed, too.
3. Aeration Helps Grass Grow in Shade
Shady lawn areas benefit from lawn aeration, which uses a machine to pull out plugs of soil, creating spaces so that air and water can penetrate, which leads to healthier roots.
Lawn aeration also helps break down thatch — that layer of dead grass and stems that sits between the grass blades and the soil.
Aeration is typically followed by overseeding, as the holes created by aeration are perfect new homes for grass seed. (Get the good stuff, remember?)
4. Water Less in Shaded Areas
A shady lawn doesn’t use water as quickly as sun-drenched turf.
Remember to water deeply and less frequently. That encourages deeper roots to form, which will help your shady grass thrive.
5. Mow High
It’s always a good idea to keep grass on the taller side, but it’s extra important when growing grass in shade. The extra length lets blades store more energy for growth. Shaded grass needs all the help it can get to collect sunlight for photosynthesis, the process that fuels its growth.
Is Your Idaho Lawn Ready for a New Best Friend?
If you want simple, hassle-free lawn care in Idaho Falls or Boise, ID that offers quality core lawn care services for a healthy lawn in sun or shade, it doesn’t get easier than Lawn Buddies.
No stressing about which complicated combination of lawn care services will get you beautiful, healthy grass.
You don’t have time to fuss with all that. Give yourself a break.
Welcome to one premium, six-visit lawn care program that includes everything your lawn needs to grow healthy and green.
Fertilizer, weed treatments, and grub control, all wrapped up in six visits, each perfectly timed throughout the season, so your grass is green and strong and resists weeds.
We’ve got your back.
Got a few minutes? That’s all you need to get started.
Fill out the form on this page.
Call us at (208) 656-9131.
Or read more about our services.
Then kick back and relax in your healthy, thriving yard.
