One of the common lawn problems that homeowners face is growing grass in shade. If you have a property with a lot of trees, you might frequently deal with bare patches and thin areas around your lawn.
The truth is, sunlight is an essential element when it comes to growing grass and when your lawn is deprived of it, it will struggle to grow.
While there’s no magic bullet solution for grass that grows in the shade, we do have some possible steps that you can take, which will help. At the end of the day, we know your lawn is important to you and want to help you find the solution that will work best for you.
There are definitely shade grass seed mixtures out there that require less sunlight to grow. But we have found that homeowners often think these mixes require no sunlight and that’s simply not true.
ALL grass needs sun to grow, even shade mixes.
On average, most shaded seed grass mixtures need around 5 to 6 hours of sunlight per day to grow to their full potential.
Typically, shade grass seed mixes come with a variety of fine fescues that can survive with less sunlight. Power seeding bare spots with these shade mixtures can become part of your lawn care routine.
Another valuable solution to the struggle of how to grow grass in the shade is to reduce the shade. Tree pruning is an excellent way to do just that.
Over time, a tree’s canopy can become quite thick, and less sunlight will begin reaching the lawn. Tree pruning with the intention of allowing more light onto the lawn is a valuable solution.
With tree pruning, we can raise the canopy so that your lawn can get some early morning or late-day sunlight to the areas underneath.
Sometimes, even with a combination of tree pruning and using shaded seed grass, homeowners with a heavily shaded property find they are still struggling to grow a healthy lawn.
If that’s the case, you might want to consider other solutions.
Grass alternatives are one possible answer.
For instance, creating large mulch rings around your trees in the most heavily shaded areas can eliminate your frustration with these bare spots. A grass “alternative” like mulch or gravel can fill in where the grass simply won’t grow.
Another possible solution is adding a plant bed to these shady areas. Rather than constantly trying to seed those bare spots, you can add plant beds and fill them with shade-loving plants that don’t need lots of sun.
This way you still have greenery but you don’t have to worry about dealing with a struggling lawn.
Of course, another solution is tree removal.
For those of us at Limbwalker, who really do love trees, this is something we’d usually consider as a last-case scenario.
But if your lawn is incredibly important to you and you are tired of having a shaded property, this is another answer.
At the end of the day, every property is different…and every property owner has different wants and needs. You’ll want to work with a lawn care professional who truly listens to your concerns and works with you to come up with an appropriate solution for you.
At Limbwalker, it helps that we offer both lawn care and tree care services.
While we absolutely love trees, we also know that they can sometimes cause hassles and headaches for homeowners…particularly when it comes to a heavily shaded property.
Fortunately, we are often able to improve shady lawn areas without taking drastic measures. Oftentimes it’s a combination of some of the tips that we mentioned above based on your wants and needs. Sometimes it’s also about managing expectations. While the lawn in unshaded areas might look great, you may have to come to terms with it being a little thinner under the trees.
No matter what, you can count on us to be straightforward with you. Nothing is worse than a lawn care provider that makes promises they can’t keep. If your Louisville, KY lawn is heavily shaded and the grass is never going to grow well there, you can count on us to be honest about that.
We’ll work together to come up with a solution that’s right for you so that you can get back to loving your property to the fullest.
Are you ready to troubleshoot lawn problems at your Louisville, KY home? Get in touch with us to get a quote for our lawn care programs, which include three lawn care pricing options.