There are possibly two varieties of zoysia that handle shade. They might be the same variety discovered by different researchers - who knows? One is called Shadow Turf. I've seen it growing under a very dense English walnut tree. Here is a pic I took of it. This lawn was blocked by the house to the east, the walnut tree right overhead, and a large tree to the west across the street. If any of it got more than 2 hours of direct sunlight I'd be surprised. It had been installed with 1-inch plugs about 18 months prior. The uneven area in the center of the picture is the only spot where it had not completely filled in. The 1-inch plugs had grown to 12 inch patches but they had not knit together yet. Otherwise the grass was very dense. Even if it had been growing in full sun I would have called it dense. I did an experiment with Shadow Turf and was not thrilled with it. It is just about as aggressive as bermuda and much less tolerant of the heat. I guess it goes dormant in the heat. It certainly does come back, though. In all fairness, the location is isolated and it must get special treatment. I was not home to water as needed so it looked dead during most of our recent 2-year long drought. My wife is going to try to pull it out this year. I'll be reporting on the success of that project later. I forget the name of the other variety of shade tolerant zoysia. I'm thinking it is called Diamond but could be very wrong. It is used on golf courses in the east.

As rdaystrom mentions, seed needs moisture to germinate *BUT* will only when soil temps are conducive! Your shade area(s) are cooler than the sun sun spots. Keep in mind too - the sun moves throughout the day, causing warmer spots here, even if the time is shorter, than over there. PS, dots are weeds. Grass is string like.

Hi Molly, I donÂt know much about the alternative grasses, but one thing you might consider is Achillea millefolium (a/k/a A. lanulosa). ThereÂs been some discussion around here about using this as an alternative lawnÂwith or without letting it bloom. It should do well up to 10,000' and zone 3 if not z2. ItÂll grow in virtually any soil and spreads quicklyÂbut it sounds like that would be a good thing for what you want it for. If you decide to give it a try, IÂd recommend the straight species with plain white flowers rather than the hybrids with the colored flowers. I just donÂt know if the hybrids would be quite as hardy. The plain white one is available as plants or seed. A couple more Achilleas you could try are A. sibirica (white), or A. ageratifolia (white to pale pink), or A. tomentosa (brite yellow). They should all be hardy to z3, and I think theyÂd work at 10,000' too. You could make a real pretty wildflower "lawn." A few other possibilities are Alyssum montanum, basket-of-gold; Anacyclus depressus, Mr. Atlas daisyÂI love that one; Aster alpinus, alpine asters; Antenaria, pussytoes; Cerastium tomentosum, snow-in-summer; Erigeron compositus, alpine fleabane; Fragaria vesca, alpine strawberryÂvery small but incredibly sweet berries; Leontopodium alpinum, edelweiss; Pulsatilla vulgaris, pasqueflower; lots of different sedums; and, of course, Aquilegia caerulea, Rocky Mountain columbine. The tallest couple of these would get up to about 18", and most of them would be under a foot. And most of them either spread a lot or reseed once you get a few started. I donÂt know how high the alternative grasses like buffalo grass will grow, but there are some folks around here who know quite a bit about them, so youÂll probably hear from them. Are you in/near Leadville? Skybird

So far it looks like you're getting advice from Yankees. Growing fescue here is a waste of time and money. It should be criminalized for wasting water. It looks like you already have St Augustine. No other grass could look that good in there. A close up photo would be nice - from 3 inches away - on an overcast day - with a clean camera lens. All you have to do is water St Aug and it will spread 15 feet per year. That might look like a lot of shade, but St Aug can handle a lot worse than that. If you want to get it started in places where it isn't already growing, buy a piece from the local nursery. They might try to sell you Floratam. That's okay but Floratam does better in full sun than in the shade. There are other varieties that do better in that much shade. If Floratam is all they have, use that. Just get a few pieces and put it down. Water those pieces by hand 3x per day until they knit into the underlying soil. You'll notice the grass growing up tall when it is knit in. Here's how to water. Watering: Deep and infrequent is the mantra for watering. This is for all turf grass all over the place. Deep means 1 inch all at one time. Put some cat food or tuna cans around the yard, and time how long it takes your sprinkler(s) to fill all the cans. Memorize that time. That will be the time you water from now on. My hose, sprinkler and water pressure takes 8 full hours to fill the cans. Your time will likely be less. I like gentle watering. As for watering frequency, that depends on the daytime air temperature. With temps in the 90s, deep water once per week. With temps in the 80s, deep water once every 2 weeks. With temps in the 70s, deep water once every 3 weeks. With temps below 70, deep water once a month. Note that you have to keep up with quickly changing temps in the spring and fall. This deep and infrequent schedule works in Phoenix and in Vermont, so it should work for you. The reason for deep and infrequent is to grow deeper, more drought resistant roots and to allow the soil to dry completely at the surface for several days before watering again. If it rains, reset your calendar to account for the rainfall. I strongly recommend an oscillator sprinkler for your rectangular lawn. Get the turbo oscillator. They don't all say turbo on them anymore. Some say gear driven. Just don't get the one with the exposed mechanical linkage. Those are bad from the factory. I've had gear/turbo driven oscillators last for years and years. $20. For St Augustine mulch mow at the mower's highest setting every week or two (or three). Taller grass develops deeper roots that get nutrients and moisture from deeper down. Fertilize 3x per year, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Thanksgiving (or so). Or you could fertilize with an organic fertilizer now or any time. Give that 3 weeks and the grass should look 100% better in color, density, and growing speed.