Asking because I am lawn and garden challenged. Live in CS and have st. Augustine grass, however, the oak tree in my front yard has gotten so big (and roots coming to surface) that the grass is refusing to grow and is becoming bare. I plan on putting down some topsoil to mostly cover the roots and level the yard, but I think putting down more st. Augustine will be fruitless. So my question is what kind of grass do I put down or seed it with? I plan on pruning up the lower branches to let in more light but it's never gonna be enough for st. Augustine. Any recs for sod or seed?

How big is the tree? Can you post a pic of the situation?

If St Augustine won't grow I don't believe anything else will. Would putting in a bed of mulch or groundcover around the tree work?

Yeah I was thinking about a ground cover but don't really know what to use. It's an irregular shaped area that would butt up against the area where the grass does grow well (out of the shade).

St Augustine is the most shade tolerant of the warm season grasses so if that won't grow I think you're out of luck....

My entire backyard is shaded and we've struggled with grass. I've planted Palmetto St Augustine which some say is the most shade tolerant variety of st Augustine. Even it has struggled in most areas. Fortunately sod is pretty cheap and I can replace it annually in the small area that it is in.

Ground cover is a great alternative but my oaks drop leaves in the fall (you may have a live oak) and that makes maintaining ground cover a pain.

I've considered just covering parts of the yard with pine straw mulch

Have you thoroughly trimmed the canopy?

I have three live oaks & no grass. After I had them trimmed the grass came in thick.

Thanks for the reply guys. I'm gonna trim the tree up a bit and try grass again this year. If it won't take, I'll go to ground cover.

will.mcg said:

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Have you thoroughly trimmed the canopy?

I have three live oaks & no grass. After I had them trimmed the grass came in thick.

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This... you already said you plan to trim the lower branches. That is usually all it takes to get enough sunlight to the St. Augustine. If it doesn't work, keep trimming!

river rocks

And lots of water. Oaks will suck the ground dry beneath themselves.

Check out Ameri-shade St. Augustine. It'll grow in very, very shaded areas. That's what I used in a similar situation at it's done great. I used some leftover pieces in full sun and they made it a couple of years before they started to fade but the ones planted in full shade are still going good 6 years later.

Good info. Is that readily available? And where?

Trim the lower branches and then anything that grows back in towards the middle. Let light in, grass will thrive.

Agree with above. Trim the tree enough to where more light gets through. Now if it's already bare in a number of spots, you may want to go ahead and resod those portions, because while trimming the tree can help the St Aug hold its ground, I've found that it's not inclined to thrive and spread in those shadier areas.

I've got two huge live oaks in front and one in back, so my yard is quite shady. But with some annual tree trimming (and I'm not cutting them to the pont they look ridiculous), enough light gets through for the St Aug to hold it's ground.

Depending on how large the trees are, I'd consider using a professional to do that first big trimming that your trees likely need. After that, you should be able to keep it under control on your own if you get out there once or twice a year to trim new growth.

Metal landscaping liner, heavy mulch or river rocks, and extremely shade tolerant plants?

That's what I did when I had 2 huge Arizona Ash trees in my back yard in West Texas.

I'm more of a "put nice rock edging all the way around, all mulch -NEVER TOPSOIL- and plant shade tolerant perennials/flowers/etc..." guy.

Palisades Zoysia - have had great luck planted under large live oak trees. Area receives minimal sunlight each day.

Have you tried using tree spikes? Trees use up a lot of the nutrients in the soil at their base, depriving everything else around them. Replenishing with tree spikes has always worked pretty well for me.

Also, is it too late to trim oak trees? I've been reading conflicting info on the internet.

Zoysia is more shade tolerant than St Aug but selective pruning is by far your best option. Not only for the grass, but the tree as well. Also the suggestion to water the area more than others is sound advice.