I am needing help with my backyard. Over the last 2 years, the st. augustine has slowly receded due to shade (I think). Half the yard gets full sun, and the grass seems to be doing fine, however the shaded portion is almost non-existent.

The questions:

- do I have a serious case of grub worms?
- is the shade killing the grass?
- if I put down more st. augustine after trimming the trees (already done), am I just asking for the same result?

Any advise/help will be much appreciated!

Thanks

How much shade? St. Augustine is shade tolerant compared to most grasses, but it does need some sun (3-4 hours/day). Some variants (palmetto in particular) are more shade tolerant than others.



[This message has been edited by SJEAg (edited 4/12/2010 3:59p).]

The yard gets morning light in this area, but not much after that. After trimming the trees way back, I can assume more light will make it through. When we bought the house 5 years ago, the yard was great. Just in the last year has it really deteriorated in the back.

I am thinking it could be grubbs!

grubbs are usually spotty, sounds like you just needed to trim the trees up

how shade tolerant is zoysia grass? would it do better?...i'm sad to say this but one of the nurseries here (Aggie owned) said Tech has come out with some new grass called techturf and tech shade
http://www.turffalo.com/pages/tturf.htm?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Tech+Turf&utm_term=tech+turf&9gtype=search&9gkw=tech%20turf&9gad=5076220827.11

the shaded stuff might work but it does grow a little slower than the turf kind...just another possible option

Zoysia is shade tolerant but not more so than St. Augustine.

My suggestions are to kill your grubs. There's probably more than you think. Also you can trim your trees out a little, or get a shade tolerant grass. I've got a type of St. Augustine called "Amerishade" that does great in a 70% shaded area of my back yard. It doesn't grow fast, though, so you'll need to sod the entire area. As a matter of fact, tilling the area first would kill most of the grubs & then the sod would really take off.

Changing subjects a bit, is there a good grass to put in a fenced area where I keep my dogs? I know some areas will never grow grass because they dig and play, but is there a hearty grass that can stand up to the traffic?

Partially shaded.

Capt Dan - I'd say that Bermuda is your best bet, but it won't grow in the shade. Maybe a Bermuda-Zoyzia mix? (Caveat - I don't know a lot about Zoyzia). There are also some specialty grasses developed by Texas Tech that might work but would be expensive.

Zoysia will choke out bermuda, it would be a good bet though. Would need to be a mature lawn to have a chance though.

Thanks guys for all the opinions/options. I think we have decided to go back with St. Augustine. I really feel at this point that it is a serious grub problem. I bought Grub-Ex yesterday at Lowes and plan on doing some serious spreading! I will then till up the ground and cover with SOD then fertilize. Anything else i should do?

Looking back at pics from 3 years ago, my yard was prestine! Now its looking sad!

quote:

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i'm sad to say this but one of the nurseries here (Aggie owned) said Tech has come out with some new grass called techturf and tech shade
http://www.turffalo.com/pages/tturf.htm?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=Tech+Turf&utm_term=tech+turf&9gtype=search&9gkw=tech%20turf&9gad=5076220827.11

the shaded stuff might work but it does grow a little slower than the turf kind...just another possible option

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Wow, that stuff sounds really great. Anybody have experience with it? Pricing seems somewhat reasonable, too.

tman - I looked at it & Amerishade & ended up purchasing Amerishade. I think they were about a wash as far as performance, but that Amerishade was a little cheaper & a little easier to get.

LSB_2002, use a phosphorus application instead of regular fertilizer, it'll stimulate that roots to grow and you'll get a better result.

where did you guys find amerishade? In houston?

FYI I googled "Naked Yard" oops!

Don't do that....

Any place in DFW to get some Amerishade? its exactly what I need for a section of my backyard.