Question
I moved to missouri just norht of St.louis about an hour or so. I have purchased a home with a lot of shade almost no sun light gets to the yard I want grass what do I plant? the soil seems to stay moist but solid very hard packed? I put some fertilizer down and applied lime tilled some rough areas and planted some shade mix from walmart but the soil seems to get hard packed  to let much come through water stands after a rain for some time. the tilled areas seem to grow the the gras but the areas I haven't till are really not producing much but mosses and small clusters of grass. I have raked over the top to try to open the soil but doesn't seem to help. I also want to plant vines to grow a living fence around the place what is a fragerant hardy shade vine that grows here? thanks for any help! JARROD

Answer
Hi Jarrod,

>>"...almost no sun light ...?"

Sun and soil are critical for having an easy to care-for lawn without continual appearance problems.  Without so much quality of each, you may as well try to  grow something else.  

All lawn grasses like lots of sun-light.  The most shade-tolerant type there is a cultivar of TALL FESCUE.  Try SR-8600, Rebel or Ky-31 Tall Fescue or similar for the partial shade.  Even the best shady grass will probably have to be re-seeded often to keep up a density.

Again, IF these optimally shade-tolerant varieties can't grow for you, then you are well advised to try alternative landscaping scenarios.


You may be able to prune/trim the trees to let in more light for a temporary remedy.  The soil can have a labor intensive work-up to make it better draining and more fertile. This may help to get a lawn up and going, but this whould be a major effort to change what's established.

In certain situations, it is just more practical to go with the flow and cooperate with what Nature has provided.  You  might be able to construct some gardens for shade-loving plants or work in some decks and patios, etc.  There are hundreds of types of shade-loving plants for different hardiness zones (see link below for finding your zone number).

Shade loving plants are not generally known for their fragrant flowers.  Some of the Lilies might be considered.

You may have trouble finding a 'fragrant hardy shade vine' type of plant at your local garden center. Cultivars of Lonicera ('Honey-suckle'), Creeping forms of Hydrangea, are two others that come to mind which can take the shade and may not complain too much about the poor soil if you give them a good start setting.  There are also several low growing evergreens that might cover areas and look good ('carpet junipers' for example).

At your library, you will find garden magazines and books with more ideas.  And use key-words such as 'shady gardens' at Google.com to link to many specialty mail-order nurseries for these types of plants.  

Only Use plants and grasses rated for your climate-zone.
 HORT ZONES from ZIP CODES:
 http://www.arborday.org/trees/whatzone.html
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Ground Cover plants:
http://www.groundcoversusa.com/
http://hometown.aol.com/millhoff/
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With a good fertile-loamy well draining top-soil, best quality hybrid grass type(s), 1-3 inches of water per week, plenty of sun-light, ...almost anyone can have an excellent lawn with a minimum maintenance effort.
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I Hope this has answered your question(s)!

Visit my Lawn & Gardens webpage for more Lawn and Garden Tips, Facts and Links:
http://hometown.aol.com/eilatlog/lawnol.html

Your Questions and Comments are welcome at ALLEXPERTS.com

___ Jim Gibbs,
    Microbiologist/Botanist