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PostPosted: Mon Sep 01, 2003 9:15 am 
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Help!!! We have purchased an older home on a lot that's slighter over 1/2 acre. We're about 12 miles NE of Denton. Numerous large old oak trees (18 over 24 inch diameter) are present, so most of lot is heavily shaded for most of the day. Some native bermuda in areas that get sun. Yard was totally neglected for past 10 years or so, except for occasional mowing. Is there any grass that will grow in shade, or do we need to go with plants like jasmine and other ground cover? Are there other ground covers that could be used? What is the recommended treatment for a yard so badly neglected? The leaves were never raked, so there is a good base of oak leaf compost on top of a sandy soil. Your help and comments will be appreciated.


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 01, 2003 10:07 am 
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Location: Dallas,TX
First, don't dig or till around the base of those trees. They really don't do well with that and are way to valuable to take a chance on hurting them. You will see great benefit if you will apply molasses, cornmeal and compost or humate to the soil. Sounds like the leaves have been doing some natural soil protection for you so far. You might want to mulch the leaves on the remainig grass with a mulching mower (I do this every year) and let them degrade into the soil to add organic matter. The molasses will stimulate the microbes in the soil and get it to loosen up so whatever you choose to put in the ground will have a better chance for surviving. St. Augustine does well in shade yards but it has to be sodded or plugged. I know a few people with fescue but I don't see it taking too well around oaks. A nice ground cover would probably be your best bet.

I'm guessing by jasmine you mean asian jasmine? That stuff grows to amazing lengths! You might consider balancing the green with the variegated for a nice evergreen look. Liriope and other grasses in the plain and variegated varieties will add some height and variance to the area so you might think about using them as well. Both plants are also really hardy once they get established so they won't take a lot of your time with nursing them along. Mulching all the bare soil will benefit you tremendously in several ways, protecting the soil from compaction, cutting down on erosion and adding more organic material to the soil as it breaks down. Fall is a great time to do all this so you have perfect timing! If you can get the plants in the ground in the next month, they will have time to establish themselves and grow root systems so that when the warm weather returns in spring they will be ready to roll!

Hope this is helpful! :D


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 01, 2003 10:52 am 
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Location: San Antonio,TEXAS
At least they did no harm. Neglect is far superior to chemicide :wink:

St Augustine will grow in that shade. Mine does great under a live oak canopy. You might want to thin out the trees to open up the area every 3-5 years or so. In that much shade, St Aug will not only prosper, it will choke out all the bermuda and everything else if you care for it properly. It will, of course, do better in full sun, but you should not be disappointed with it. Ground covers are always an option to add interest to your landscape. We have Asiatic jasmine behind steel landscaping borders.

Do you have any grass or weeds already there? If you have bare spots, you could sod in St Aug in those bare spots right away. If you start some now, it should start to spread for you. You might get away with just letting a few flats of sod spread for you if you are really on a budget. If you have any grass or weeds that have already formed a sod, you need to get that raked out before laying sod. Sod sort of needs bare soil underneath to really take hold.

One thing you might consider is laying a heavy layer of compost on the area to smother anything that's there now and lay sod on top next spring.

Once you get any lawn started, you should start to treat it right with proper watering, mowing, and fertilizing. Check out the FAQ at the top of the lawns forum for more info.

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