3 large live oaks

Chainsaw?

I live in the forest. I have over 120 large trees including several live oaks on 1.3 acres. I don't have any dust. Stuff naturally grows where normal grass does not. I don't know what the stuff is but it's nice looking and the reason it grows is because I don't mess with it.

Have you never visited the LSU campus? Steele Burden, who designed the campus landscape, solved this problem for you decades ago. Plant a hardy groundcover like asiatic jasmine or ardesia beneath your mature live oaks. It will be green, keep down the dust, and prevent people from walking/driving over the roots of your live oaks.

A massive tree pruning will produce some but not thick grass.

My large live oak near my house (40' diameter) produced some grass with the trimming, it doesn't get much sun under the tree due to the house and other trees nearby.

My other live oak (20' diameter) is by itself with no other trees or structures nearby and it grows grass just fine. During the max heat of the summer I do see a burn ring in the grass around the drip line every year

Create a planting bed with shade loving groundcover plants such as Gigantic Liriope, Cast Iron Plant, Wood Fern, etc.

Leave about 8’ radius from the trunk. Plant ardisia in the other space

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CAST IRON PLANT

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That stuff will grow anywhere.

I wish I could grow it in my yard. The deer tear it up.

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interior pruning

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This helps a lot. So many people just cut the ends off the limbs, but what is left is still thick as a blanket and blocks sunlight.

You need a trimmer who scampers around in there like a squirrel and cuts out all the uneccessary interior limbs and suckers so that daylight can get through. It can make an amazing difference in the beauty of the tree and the ability to grow grass beneath it.

My neighbor has two big live oaks in his front yard. He keeps them thinned, and his St. Aug beneath them looks as good as in nearby yards with no trees. A lady a few doors down never trims or thins her two, and her yard is mud, roots, and leaves.

if you have hard pan you will need to break it up as best you can prior.

I won't promise but I'm pretty certain you can get fescue to grow under them.

But you will need to water a lot in the heat of summer.