My backyard has never had real good grass growth. There was some sort of ground ivy (for lack of a better way of putting it) on a section of it that I finally removed last fall and today, we got rid of 3 of 5 of a clump of trees back there. We still have a large oak tree on one side of the yard. However, I'm sure the 3 trees removed were sapping up a lot of yard resources. But what's left is the oak and 2 smaller trees spaced out a little.

I have bermuda in the front (no trees) and its doing OK -- would be doing better if I attended to it more. The back has fencing all the way around and, with the trees, only got SOME sun between around 10am and about 4pm. Now, it should get more sun at least a couple to 3 hours longer. The trees that are left don't have the coverage the ones taken out had -- one in particular cast a large shadow. The house faces West and the backyard is approximately 2000 sq. ft.

I like bermuda, hate St. Augustine, but would be fine with Zoysia. I want to lay seed down this weekend or early next week as it was just "mowed" and there is a lot of dirt there. I can easily keep it watered with a sprinkler system.

Your Bermuda will likely be sad.

Zoysia

10-12 hours of full sun for healthy Bermuda. Zoysia does better in shade than Bermuda but gets very thin in even modest shade.

I had zoysia in my front and backyard in my first house is great. The back had significant shade in the front has moderate shade

Any ideas of where to get Zoysia seed in DFW?

Sod only

Zoysia can grow in 4-1/2-5 hours of direct sunlight, same as St. Augustine. Dappled shade is a crapshoot if it gets no full sun.

Letting grass grow longer in the shade helps (more light gathering ability)

Mine was el Toro zoysia sod. Seed won't work if it's even available

My Zoysia has done pretty well in partial shade - better than St. Augustine. Ive purchased zoysia sod from a couple of different places east of downtown Plano. Keep in mind there are different varieties. I believe Palisades handles shade better, but you might want to confirm.