Best way to grow grass in the shade?

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I've been told that it has more to do with the trees sucking up all the water in the area.

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this. the shade may be 10% of the problem

My parents have the same issue--big beautiful oaks in the front yard, but dirt is entirely too dry to support common/traditional grass species. We got a palette of Centepede, tilled the ground with river sand and fertilizer, and then stuck to a very regular watering schedule. No luck.

One of the local nurseries recommended Zoysia grass--doesn't require as much water and can grow in low light. We never did try it though.

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I have Bermuda grass

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It will not grow under trees. It needs pretty much full sun.

There are different breeds of zoysia that will grow under shade. I won't say it will thrive but it will grow.

The two most popular breeds here in Memphis is Meyer and Emerald. I think Meyer is the more shade tolerant of the two.

not emerald. Palisades is the other.

I trimmed a lot of the small branches to get more sunlight on the grass. It helped.

Bermuda isn't going to grow in the shade, period.

You could let weeds take it over, they are short lived but they are seasonal, so you'll have winter weeds, spring weeds, summer weeds, fall weeds. If you can keep them contained in the shady area, and keep them mowed, they'll look fine. Most go dormant in the peak heat of the summer, while Bermuda is thriving, so during that part of the year, it will still be an ugly spot.

Or you could try Zeon Zoysia in the spot, but it will need a whole lot more care in that situation than weeds. Whether it is fescue or Zoysia, whatever is in that shady spot will spend its existence on perpetual life-support. You will have to water more, fertilize more, weed more, and it won't tolerate foot traffic.

Most people opt to make a flower bed in such areas. There are many shrubs and flowers that do much better in shade than any type of grass will. Think bird bath and a bench, holly bushes, bulbs, pansies.