Questioni have heavy shade in my back yard. what is the best grass seed to try? i tried creeping red fescue. it didnt do well. thanx for taking questions.
AnswerHi Harry,
Creeping Red Fescue is a good one, so if that didn't work you have to consider alternative paths.
1) Get more sunlight in there via tree pruning and/or selective tree removal.
2) Plant something other than grass in that area. One interesting option is "Pennsylvania Sedge", which resembles grass from across the yard, but isn't a true grass. In fact, there's a great book titled "Sedge Lawns for Every Landscape" which pitches sedge as a great grass alternative. In your case, if Creeping Red Fescue didn't make it, I can't imagine another grass that will. There's just too much shade. You can find out more about the book here: http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/sustainable/handbooks/lawns/5.html#bio
3) Go with a more shade tolerant groundcover like pachysandra that won't resemble grass at all, but will look nice in and of its own right.
4)Forget about plants altogether and lay down a pleasant looking mulch in the area.
Those are just a few of my thoughts, but I would definitely not recommend continuing to go for lawn. It'll be way too frustrating.
Good luck my friend!
-C.J. Brown
www.TheLawnCoach.com
