Can the grass experts of SF recommend a (cool season) grass seed brand/variety for an area that is more shady than full sun? I'd say it gets 4-6 good hours of sun total.

I have a section of grass between our house and the next that doesn't get full sun just due to the shading from each house but grass does grow there as I had ripped out ivy and planted grass there about 5 years ago. I just had it all excavated for some underground downspout drain work and it's all filled back in but bare dirt now.

I know this is NOT the time to be trying to grow grass ideally but I have to try and hope for the best and will plan to water the crap out of it all summer so it survives until fall.

The grass there before grew OK but I thought if I plant a more shade-tolerant variety I'd have better luck.

Any ideas?

Tall Fescue is the easiest to grow from a seed and is kinda the standard cool-season, shade tolerant grass. It's biggest weakness is it will burn up in hot conditions. It needs to stay wet throughout the summer and then will take off in fall again. It also needs to be pre-emerged consistently each spring because it is not very weed tolerant. Also, if it butts up against aggressive grasses that spreads with runners like bermuda or zoysia, it will lose that battle.

A warm-season grass that might do ok would be Zeon Zoysia, which is a warm-season grass that is highly shade tolerant. Probably best in the southern parts of Pennsylvania. And it will go dormant in winter and be fully brown (it does that even in Georgia.)

After fescue I'm a bit out of my depth for cool-season grasses but the other popular one would be Kentucky Bluegrass. Or you probably have some local mixes (bluegrass/rye is a popular combo.) If you just need "grass" and are not concerned with super top-notch turf, a blend is a good idea.

Hqv8ng previously lived in a forested area in Pennsylvania, I used Scott's DENSE SHADE grass ssed. I don't remember the variety, only the Dense Shade label. Grew very well, definitely tolerated the shade.

Most of the shade-tolerant mixes you will see at the home goods store will have an appropriate mix. These will be a compromise between fast-sprouting annual ryes, and longer-lasting perennial varieties of fescue and bluegrass. The annual grasses are intended to provide quick cover, and "nurse" the slower-growing varieties. Some of these formulations also include a mulching compound and fertilizer, this makes for ease of application, and protects against some forms of grower abuse (like over-fertilization). The right amount of watering after sowing is very important, too much can be as bad as too little.

But this is not the time to seed. As a general rule, I try to work with the natural life-cycle of a plant rather than fight it. During April, May and June, grasses are trying to grow vegetatively as fast as possible. In nature, they don't try to grow seed heads until August or September, so that is when you should be seeding. When I was doing this professionally, I would wait until say 8/15 when the hot dry nights of summer start to turn wetter and cooler. Grass seedlings can handle hot dry days a lot better than hot dry nights. When weather conditions are right, germination proceeds without extraordinary efforts required.

And pre-emergent herbicides are definitely called for on developing grass plots, especially if you are going for a groomed look (crabgrass/goosegrass can be ugly, but at least it stays green most of the summer). Just don't try to prevent weed grass germination and expect desirable varieties to be unaffected. Seeding into a plot that has had pre-emergent applied is futile.

I posted a similar question about fertilized a few weeks ago and got some real good feedback.

My wife found a seed mix with fertilizer in it. It is a blend of tall fescue and fine fescue.

https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...935/m/3910015415/p/1

quote:

Originally posted by architect:


But this is not the time to seed.

Yes, I understand that. I usually wait until September but I can't have a large patch of bare dirt getting washed out all summer with the summer storms we get that dump 1-3 inches at a shot.

What else can I do? Just cover it all with a thick layer of straw until September?

It's not the best time to seed but I would think it is still cool enough in PA to start some fescue. If soil temp is between 50-65F and will still be for a month, you should be able to get something established. Then you should do it again in the fall, also.

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