You have a beautiful yard. But why your grass won’t grow in shade is annoying you! You have a great lawn care company, but it seems the grass under your growing trees keeps getting thinner. When last season and the season before your grass might have been really thick and green. Each season things change. The trees that you plant can really affect the ground underneath.
Palms or Shade Trees
Deciding what trees to plant in your yard can be challenging. You might ask questions like, do I like the tropical look of palms, or would I rather have the cooling effect of shade trees? The choice you make in planting my not affect your yard for years. This year as the tree matures and cast more shade you grass my suffer. So what do you do? If you want the shade, you may want to start looking for other ground cover options for around the trees and in the shade. We have a few suggestion here for native Florida ground cover that will grow when your grass won’t grow in shade.
My Grass Won’t Grow In Shade!
If you had sod installed its probably a variety of St. Augustine. No some variants are very good in the shade. Classic to regular St. Augustine really need s a minimum of 4 hours of direct sunlight each day. Then again this grass can also handle full sun very well and really give that nice manicured look.
On the other hand Seville St. Augustine grass handles the shade well. In areas with as little as two hours of sunlight this grass will look great. If you have some great shade trees and virtually no direct sunlight under the trees you may have to look to options other than grass. This would include native Florida ground covers.
Native Florida Ground Covers
If grass is not much of an option because of your amount of shade, it doesn’t mean you have to deal with mud in your yard all summer long. Here are 3 great options from the gardening solutions at University of Florida to help give your yard some really great cover.
Asiatic Jasmine
Asiatic jasmine is a fast-spreading, densely growing ground cover that will thrive in sun or shade. This plant requires very little maintenance; just occasional trimming of edges is needed to keep it looking neat.
Mondo Grass
Mondo grass is an evergreen that is actually a member of the lily family. This grass has blade-like slender leaves that curve back toward the ground, giving this plant the appearance of turfgrass.
Swamp Fern
Swamp fern is a Florida native that is particularly well-suited for areas that are shaded and moist. This upright fern can actually grow pretty tall for a ground cover, reaching 4 feet in height. For a little extra visual interest the new growth on this plant is coppery pink which then becomes dark green with age.
The friends over at Problem Solved have been helping your neighbors for over 40 years. If you have a problem with plants not growing, or the grass won’t grow in shade like it used to, give us a call or complete our online form. We can take a look to see if it’s a yard pest like grubs, a lack of proper fertilization, or something else. Not only do we fix lawn problems, we also keep your family safe from pests and rodents. We look forward to getting to know you and earn your trust!
