Grass Seed for Shady Area

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FineWine

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#303389 7-Feb-2023 15:42

Tauranga - I have a 25m/sq lawn which at the end of the 2020 lock down I had killed off and Tall Fescue instant lawn put down by lawn professionals??

At one end is a large deciduous Cherry Tree. This shades a ⅓ of the lawn. The professionals stated that Tall Fescue was the correct grass seed for Tauranga climate and my lawn area, including the shade area under the Cherry Tree. Three years later I now have a very patchy soily area on that ⅓ of lawn.

We will not be chopping down the Cherry Tree!

This started to occur in the 2nd year of the new lawn. The rest of the lawn is very good. Since then I have tried all sorts of Fescue mix blends - Tall, Fine, Chewing and Creeping Red. I have overlaid the new seed with Daltons Premium Lawn Soil or/and Tui LawnForce® Lawn Preparation Mix. I have correctly used numerous brands of lawn fertilisers. I have even used our used coffee grounds. I also have some Earth Worms which I believe are good for aeration. I mow to a min height of 50mm in summer and 70mm in winter using a sharp bladed electric mower. I hand water when necessary. (Not these days though. 🌧)

I have also just discovered via a pH probe that my soil is too alkaline (7.5-8.5). So on the weekend I applied a mix of liquid Sulphur, iron chelate and Sequestron, then retest in 4 weeks.

Of course the next period to sow is March - April.

I am thinking maybe I should change to a Tall Fescue and Kentucky Bluegrass blend or Tall Fescue and Soft-leaf Buffalo blend.

What are members thought for lawn seed in shady areas ??

Thanks.

EDIT: Refer to below post ref mowing heights - Thanks to tdgeek for pointing out this.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

rscole86

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#3032910 7-Feb-2023 15:50

My only advice, the New Zealand Lawn Addicts Facebook page is very helpful on this stuff.

FineWine

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#3032930 7-Feb-2023 16:20

rscole86: My only advice, the New Zealand Lawn Addicts Facebook page is very helpful on this stuff.

Don't belong to FB, TT, or Instagram etc.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

neb

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#3032943 7-Feb-2023 16:46

How wet does it get there? If it gets pretty soggy then you're going to have trouble with anything you plant, and while I'm not familiar with cherry trees I know for fruit trees with dense foliage like citrus and plums you just have to live with a bare-soil area under the tree out to the drip line for much of the year. You can either leave it bare or spread mulch like grass clippings (perfect if your soil is too alkaline) or pea straw to cover it.

timmmay

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#3032994 7-Feb-2023 18:15

A local lawn person in Wellington suggested turf grade rye. It's much finer than than traditional rye, grows in shade cold well. Don't try to grow it in the middle of summer, spring / autumn is better.

Handle9

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#3033003 7-Feb-2023 18:54

FineWine:

rscole86: My only advice, the New Zealand Lawn Addicts Facebook page is very helpful on this stuff.

Don't belong to FB, TT, or Instagram etc.

A "Get off my lawn" joke is normally appropriate here but.....

Gurezaemon

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#3033035 7-Feb-2023 19:51

Does kikuyu grow down Tauranga way?

I have some very shaded areas here (Northland) where it does fine.

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tdgeek

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#3033063 7-Feb-2023 20:03

FineWine:

I mow to a min height of 50mm in summer and 70mm in winter using a sharp bladed electric mower.

I cant tell you how low I mow, but I could measure the mower tomorrow. I mow higher in Summer for greater lawn health and natural mulch. Mow lower in Winter to avoid moss. So, IMHO you have it back to front.

Tauranga its humid, CHC where I am its dry, so the length you grow IMO is till back to front.

Aside from that, you could mulch mow assuming your mower has a mulch plug and the mower is designed to mulch. Mulch reduces evaporation, and after a month, the month old mow is feeding the lawn, and weekly thereafter, assuming you mow weekly.

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JimmyC

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#3033207 8-Feb-2023 07:59

Gurezaemon:

Does kikuyu grow down Tauranga way?

I have some very shaded areas here (Northland) where it does fine.

It sure does. It's frost tender though, but will come back if it gets burnt.

FineWine

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#3033212 8-Feb-2023 08:14

tdgeek:

I cant tell you how low I mow, but I could measure the mower tomorrow. I mow higher in Summer for greater lawn health and natural mulch. Mow lower in Winter to avoid moss. So, IMHO you have it back to front.

Tauranga its humid, CHC where I am its dry, so the length you grow IMO is till back to front.

Aside from that, you could mulch mow assuming your mower has a mulch plug and the mower is designed to mulch. Mulch reduces evaporation, and after a month, the month old mow is feeding the lawn, and weekly thereafter, assuming you mow weekly.

Yep, you are correct about the mowing height. I must of had brain fog when I typed that as it should read:

I mow to a min height of 70mm in summer and 50mm in winter using a sharp bladed electric mower. These are the recommended heights that Tall Fescue prefer.

Well now this got me thinking and having a look at my mower owners manual for Flymo Chevron 34VC, the mow height adjuster is graduated in 5 steps 20mm to 60mm. And here I thought I was mowing 70 - 50 when I was mowing 60 - 40. DAM! I might as well mow at 60mm all year round.

This mower does not have a mulch plug but I have been using Daltons Premium Lawn Soil which apparently contains organic matter.

This is all a big pain as I do like a good green lawn. If by next summer I am still having this crappy lawn and because it is only 25sq/m I might just get rid of it and put down artificial grass.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

networkn

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#3033220 8-Feb-2023 08:52

Can you trim, thin or shape your cherry tree to allow more light through?

Gurezaemon

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#3033236 8-Feb-2023 09:28

JimmyC:

Gurezaemon:

Does kikuyu grow down Tauranga way?

I have some very shaded areas here (Northland) where it does fine.

It sure does. It's frost tender though, but will come back if it gets burnt.

That' kinda what I like about it. Once every 3-4 years we get a frost, and as a result, no lawn mowing is needed for a couple of months!

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duckDecoy

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#3033248 8-Feb-2023 10:09

We have a shaded lawn and was recommended Tall Fescue by the professionals and had the ready lawn laid and was very patchy and half gone within a year - total waste of money. From asking around it seems the professionals always seem to recommend Tall Fescue irrespective of where its going :(

Tall Fescue doesn't seem to spread by rhizomes, so once you get patches you'll much need to reseed it, so if its in an area that might struggle you'll constantly be having to try and regrow it.

We ended up using creeping fescue, but I had to resow it many times and use Daltons lawn mix until I got all the patches filled. Now that it is established it seems to be the right choice for our shaded lawn, which can end up pretty damp too. If I notice patches appearing I resow. I often rake out the thatch after mowing because that seems to smother the area and lead to new patches once the thatch has rotted away. We tend to grow it a bit longer than others might like, it bends over rather than creating tall shafts so still looks fine, it just seems to like it.

We didn't try it but considered kikuyu grass as that works well on our neighbours lawn that is shaded by trees. Im in Auckland though so I'm not sure how it handles less mild temperatures.

FineWine

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#3033300 8-Feb-2023 11:53

networkn:

Can you trim, thin or shape your cherry tree to allow more light through?

Constantly as a ¼ hangs over into our neighbours and can hit their gutter & roof plus we thin each year as well.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

FineWine

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#3033301 8-Feb-2023 11:55

duckDecoy:

We have a shaded lawn and was recommended Tall Fescue by the professionals and had the ready lawn laid and was very patchy and half gone within a year - total waste of money. From asking around it seems the professionals always seem to recommend Tall Fescue irrespective of where its going :(

Tall Fescue doesn't seem to spread by rhizomes, so once you get patches you'll much need to reseed it, so if its in an area that might struggle you'll constantly be having to try and regrow it.

We ended up using creeping fescue, but I had to resow it many times and use Daltons lawn mix until I got all the patches filled. Now that it is established it seems to be the right choice for our shaded lawn, which can end up pretty damp too. If I notice patches appearing I resow. I often rake out the thatch after mowing because that seems to smother the area and lead to new patches once the thatch has rotted away. We tend to grow it a bit longer than others might like, it bends over rather than creating tall shafts so still looks fine, it just seems to like it.

We didn't try it but considered kikuyu grass as that works well on our neighbours lawn that is shaded by trees. Im in Auckland though so I'm not sure how it handles less mild temperatures.

Thank you for all that information, it just confirms what I had in the back of my fogged brain.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

FineWine

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#3033428 8-Feb-2023 13:31

After lots and lots more research I am now looking at heavy oversowing with Yates Made For Shade Lawn Seed which is specially formulated to maintain its appearance under, both damp and dry, shady conditions. It is also suitable for sunny areas. For semi and relatively dense shaded areas under trees and next to high walls and hedges. An ideal mixture for oversowing in spring and autumn.

INGREDIENTS

Perennial Ryegrass 50% - due to its deep roots and drought and shade tolerance
Chewings fescue 25% - due to its drought and shade tolerance
Creeping Red Fescue 25% - due to its creeping growth habit and drought and shade tolerance

OVERALL FEATURES

Finely textured
Dense growth habit
Tolerant of sun or shade
Contains fungicide & bird repellent

Prep the lawn with a good deep metal rake over then mix in some Yates Dynamic Lifter Organic Lawn Food, wet down, heavy sow the lawn seed and cover over with Yates Black Magic Seed Raising Mix and a final wet down and ensure lawn area does not dry out for at least 21 days.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.