best grass for North Texas shade
gamoses
13 years ago
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texas_weed
13 years agoRelated Discussions
North Texas (DFW), acre lot, limited watering, what grass to use
Comments (3)First things first: NEVER SEED BERMUDA INTO CELEBRATION OR ANY SODDED VARIETY OF BERMUDA. Was I shouting? Yes, I mean it. All seeded bermuda is of the common variety. All sodded bermuda is a hybrid and a different kind of grass. If you seed along side the sod, you wasted 100% of your money on the sod. The seeded stuff will make your entire lawn look weedy. With that out of the way, you might look at some of the improved buffalo or other prairie grasses instead of bermuda. If you are trying to save money, bermuda is not the way to go. The price of the sod is just the down payment. The real cost comes later with monthly applications of high nitrogen fertilizer and mowing 2x per week. If you don't keep up with the regimen and you have kids playing on it, you will have bare spots that won't heal until the kids get off of it. There are also a variety of wheatgrasses, some of which will grow in your area. Blue grama should grow there. Tech Turf is a highly improved buffalo grass, which seems to cost a lot up front but after that it is very inexpensive to maintain. It spreads much faster than other buffalo grasses and has other appeal versus the seeded varieties of buff. These all need very full sun. Any shade will thin them out. Under the trees your best choice is likely to be St Augustine although with lots of extra water, you could grow some of the fine fescues. You're pretty far south for any fescue but it has been done. St Aug is much easier to deal with. So you are planning to be lazy with this, you'll be happier with a mix of prairie grasses in the sun and St Aug in the shade....See MoreNorth Texas Tomato Novice
Comments (6)I thought about cutting branches initially, but my young son will need a sandbox in the shade soon so I'll convert the area into his play station and simply expand the new plot, which is pretty much perfect for a garden. If only I'd thought about it all more carefully I could have saved myself the trouble. Live and learn. I'm a bit confused about one thing: of my 9 plants, 7 are indeterminates. Will these make it through the summer heat until the first frost as long as I keep watering them? Is it worth the water and labor? I keep hearing horror stories about Fall tomato gardening in TX. Also: I ran an experiment in the new plot. I have two beds there, one faces South (sun from 1 to 7) the other East (sun from 10:30 to 4:30) (it's the corner of my yard with a fence that creates shade). I planted a Husky Red Cherry in each. I amended the East-facing bed with a cheap manure and hummus mix and the South facing one with an expensive cotton burr mix. The East facing, manure & hummus plant is doing so much better. Which variable is causing the success? The position or the soil? Thanks for the help. I can't wait to harvest my first tomato, I've got a patio tomato that's turning red right now....See MoreHelp with creating a woodland garden in North Texas?
Comments (5)Dear Rebecca, Like Bob, I too live in a completely different zone (5). But a great place to start is by reading a book by Sally & Andy Wasowski called 'Native Texas Gardening: Maximum Beauty Minimum Upkeep.' Sally and her husband are native Texans who have travelled throughout the midwest, west and southwest and written books on native plants for each region. I have a copy of her widely popular Gardening with Prairie Plants for folks in the midwest. It was the best. What's really great is that her books give step by step instruction on how to create a garden - includes plant lists, loads of pictures, examples of native gardens and so on. I would really focus on native plants specific to the southwest before installing the usual garden center stuff - there's already too many exotics out there (particularly in the warmer zones) that are supposedly well-behaved and are escaping into what's left of our native habitats. It's a little harder to find some of these plants but I'm sure there are nurseries in your area or through mail order that will be glad to assist. I like your idea of the stone path - that will look very cool. Good Luck with garden and please send pictures after the installation....See MoreWhat type of grass grows best is very shady areas in South East Texas?
Comments (1)There are two that might work for you. First is the king of grass in Texas, and that's St Augustine. You can find it anywhere grass is sold. If the area never gets any sun you will have a relatively thin turf. Personally I would let it grow up to 12 inches high or higher in really deep shade. If it gets any sunlight at all it will be more and more dense based on the amount of sun. Watering should be done no more often than once per week in the hottest heat of summer. If you have a week or two with temps over 100, then go to watering once every 5 days. When you water apply a full inch every time. Measure that with tuna or cat food cans. Time how long it takes to fill the cans and water for that time every time. That time can be anywhere from 20 minutes to 8 hours, so every system is different. Where are you in SE Texas? The big St Aug grass farms are in the Wharton area. The other grass that will work is a variety of zoysia called Shadow Turf. It's a lot more expensive than St Aug and a lot more persnickety. If you have a bad month with that stuff, it will turn brown and take the rest of the season off. It will return green the following spring, but who wants to wait? If you simply look at it and never do anything on it, you can do will with Shadow Turf....See Moretiemco
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