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The saga of my shady backyard (with thanks to WPBTiger, Ronk, Crawdude etc.)
Posted by BRich on 9/25/23 at 3:05 pm
4
0(Long photo-filled post I've been meaning to do but will now do now that summer's officially over)
Back in 2000, we moved into the home we had built in Old Metairie on a lot we had purchased. The lot was totally cleared EXCEPT for a gorgeous large live oak in the back yard area-- in fact we liked it so much, it's why we picked that lot instead of the one next door. This is what the scene was before construction:
After moving in, I laid down sod (St. Aug) and did landscaping beds along the side fences. For quite a few years, it all looked well. Here's a shot of the lawn from 2007, with my two girls showing the harvest of limes from our lime tree that year:
But over time, it stated to fall apart. The backyard is on the north side of the house, and under that big oak, so sunlight was an issue. I had planted a holly tree to block the view of an adjoining vacant/rundown neighboring property, but it also blocked a lot of morning sun. By 2017, the backyard looked BAD, with a lot of bare spots. Try as I might, re-sodding in the bare areas did not work (even with tilling the ground beforehand). So around then, I started to take on the challenge.
Here is a shot looking NW at the backyard probably at its worst. The shot was taken right after I took out that holly tree, which was right in the foregound.
That was also around the time I found out about Tiger Droppings, and started following the Home and Garden Board and getting lots of tips on lawn maintenance from guys like Ronk and CrawDude (and of course the St. Aug maintenance schedule posted by WPB Tiger).
Next: progress over the years...
Back in 2000, we moved into the home we had built in Old Metairie on a lot we had purchased. The lot was totally cleared EXCEPT for a gorgeous large live oak in the back yard area-- in fact we liked it so much, it's why we picked that lot instead of the one next door. This is what the scene was before construction:
After moving in, I laid down sod (St. Aug) and did landscaping beds along the side fences. For quite a few years, it all looked well. Here's a shot of the lawn from 2007, with my two girls showing the harvest of limes from our lime tree that year:
But over time, it stated to fall apart. The backyard is on the north side of the house, and under that big oak, so sunlight was an issue. I had planted a holly tree to block the view of an adjoining vacant/rundown neighboring property, but it also blocked a lot of morning sun. By 2017, the backyard looked BAD, with a lot of bare spots. Try as I might, re-sodding in the bare areas did not work (even with tilling the ground beforehand). So around then, I started to take on the challenge.
Here is a shot looking NW at the backyard probably at its worst. The shot was taken right after I took out that holly tree, which was right in the foregound.
That was also around the time I found out about Tiger Droppings, and started following the Home and Garden Board and getting lots of tips on lawn maintenance from guys like Ronk and CrawDude (and of course the St. Aug maintenance schedule posted by WPB Tiger).
Next: progress over the years...
This post was edited on 9/25 at 3:44 pm
So, after taking out that holly tree, rather than re-sodding, I decided to go with plugs, and on each of them I prepped them well (loosened roots, fertilized each, etc). Somewhere along the way, I decided to not only use St. Aug plugs, but also Zoysia plugs, figuring one might do better than the other. My idea was to put 'em both in mixed up, and:
Over time, the tree canopy was also thinned out-- partially by going on the roof and doing pruning on the live oak canopy, and partially by mother nature causing a few limb drops. And of course, I followed the advised regimen on a monthly basis from this board which helped stuff grow AND took care of weeds.
So the next few posts for ease of comparison will present views from back then in 2017 to today. We'll start with views from the west side:
2017 (not only was it very bare, but a lot of 'green' areas were actually weeds, mainly basketgrass):
2018:
2019:
2021:
2023:
Over time, the tree canopy was also thinned out-- partially by going on the roof and doing pruning on the live oak canopy, and partially by mother nature causing a few limb drops. And of course, I followed the advised regimen on a monthly basis from this board which helped stuff grow AND took care of weeds.
So the next few posts for ease of comparison will present views from back then in 2017 to today. We'll start with views from the west side:
2017 (not only was it very bare, but a lot of 'green' areas were actually weeds, mainly basketgrass):
2018:
2019:
2021:
2023:
This post was edited on 9/26 at 9:41 am
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Nice result. I've got an area around a tree that is similar, but I've got to wait for my old dog to move on the Pup Heaven before I can put down any new grass. He runs the perimeter bare chasing after delivery trucks.
A few more observations:
1. For a long time, I'd overseed with winter rye, but on the advice of some on this board a few years back I quit doing that. The winter rye seemed to hang on too long in the spring, and slow the re-growth of desired grasses at that time.
2. In the "Let Them Fight" scoring, the Zoysia seems to be winning that fight, I'd say about 70% of the backyard is now Zoysia, though the St. Aug is still mixed in and thick in some areas. The Zoysia grows much slower, but apparently stronger, with its more subterranean runners. Which leads me to my next point:
3. It's a LOT harder to keep it out of the landscape beds than the St. Aug. My lawn guy edges every week during growing season, then every other week during the winter, but those subterranean runners go under his edge line and then into the bedding areas (and under the mostly English Ivy ground cover). It also gets into the monkey grass around the base of the oak tree.
4. I still have some issues with weeds, mainly with basketgrass, though every year weeds have gotten to be less and less of a problem as the lawn gets thicker.
5. I adhere almost religiously to the St. Augustine Maintenance Schedule assembled by WPB Tiger ( LINK- I have it bookmarked on my computer) and I REALLY think that has helped it get to where it is today, along with all the tips and stuff from all of y'all, especially CrawDude and Ronk. So thanks again!
1. For a long time, I'd overseed with winter rye, but on the advice of some on this board a few years back I quit doing that. The winter rye seemed to hang on too long in the spring, and slow the re-growth of desired grasses at that time.
2. In the "Let Them Fight" scoring, the Zoysia seems to be winning that fight, I'd say about 70% of the backyard is now Zoysia, though the St. Aug is still mixed in and thick in some areas. The Zoysia grows much slower, but apparently stronger, with its more subterranean runners. Which leads me to my next point:
3. It's a LOT harder to keep it out of the landscape beds than the St. Aug. My lawn guy edges every week during growing season, then every other week during the winter, but those subterranean runners go under his edge line and then into the bedding areas (and under the mostly English Ivy ground cover). It also gets into the monkey grass around the base of the oak tree.
4. I still have some issues with weeds, mainly with basketgrass, though every year weeds have gotten to be less and less of a problem as the lawn gets thicker.
5. I adhere almost religiously to the St. Augustine Maintenance Schedule assembled by WPB Tiger ( LINK- I have it bookmarked on my computer) and I REALLY think that has helped it get to where it is today, along with all the tips and stuff from all of y'all, especially CrawDude and Ronk. So thanks again!
re: The saga of my shady backyard (with thanks to WPBTiger, Ronk, Crawdude etc.)Posted by LSUtigerME 
on 9/25/23 at 9:32 pm to BRich
on 9/25/23 at 9:32 pm to BRichAwesome progress. Sometimes it’s hard to see or appreciate the progress that’s been made until you assemble in pictures for comparison.
Many in our neighborhood have bare areas under huge live oaks, and some folks almost annually will sod/plug and water like crazy to try to patch it.
Their efforts always fail unless they have the tree canopy thinned to get some sunlight on it. All the water and fertilizer in the world won't grow a lawn in the dark.
A homeowner cutting the ends off the longest limbs is not enough. A guy needs to go up in the canopy and really thin out the interior. The tree will look better to boot.
Their efforts always fail unless they have the tree canopy thinned to get some sunlight on it. All the water and fertilizer in the world won't grow a lawn in the dark.
A homeowner cutting the ends off the longest limbs is not enough. A guy needs to go up in the canopy and really thin out the interior. The tree will look better to boot.
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