Question
My husband and I bought a house almost 3 years ago that has a very steep hill in the back yard that is mostly shade as our home backs up to a wooded area.  We spend the last two years trying to get grass to grow on this hill.  We have spent a fortune on fescue seed and degradable fabric to keep the seed in place.  In the spring, our yard was beautiful, but after the hot summer, you can't tell that we even planted seed.  It looks awful.  We had someone tell us that we should have put down Zoysia sod, that it would grow in the sun or shade.  I have researched this on line, and I am wondering how you know if there is enough sun for the Zoysia to live.  I read that Zoysia needs about 4 hours of sun a day. The yard is not deep shade except in one area, where we planted Monkey grass.   it is doing great!   I frankly don't want to go to the expense and hard work to lay zoysia sod if it is not going to grow.  What do you suggest for this area?  We need to get something to grow here, erosion is a big problem. This is a large area.  The Monkey Grass covers about one eight of the yard. (We put out around 200 gallons of Monkey Grass spilt into 4 sections). I am very tired and frustrated. I feel like we have been spinning our wheels.
Thanks so much

Answer
Hi Sandy, Meyer's Z-52 zoysia is the most common variety and it will make a very thick turf with 5-6 hours of sun.  Under 5 and it begins to thin some and tends to fade over 3-4 years.  Palisade Zoysia is the most shade tolerant. It makes a good turf with 3-4 hours of direct (not filtered# sun.  It's a little coarser in appearance than Meyer's but it is a great grass #and it's more expensive# and it is the most drought tolerant zoysia.  El Toro Zoysia has not performed well for me.  It tends to have fungus issues if it stays damp through the winter, but on a hill like yours, it may perform better.  It should grow well with 4 hours of sun.
I have Palisade growing in areas with 2 hours of sun. It's not as thick if you are looking down on it, but from a distance it look's good and it's thick enough to prevent erosion.
Should you decide to try zoysia, do the proper soil preparation first. Loosen #till or aerate) the soil and make sure your pH is and stays above 6.5. The more sun you can give it, the better it performs, so you may need to remove a few lower limbs to allow more light. As the limbs grow, you'll need to continue to trim them. Remember as the seasons change, the amount or angle of the sun may change, so it is real important that it has the correct amount of sun whenever it is actively growing.
Don't over fertilize.  The less you fertilize, the less you mow and the less stress on the grass.  Use a good quality turf builder lawn food, no cheap agricultural fertilizer like 13-13-13.  Zoysia only needs about 1/4 lb of nitrogen per 1000 sq. ft. 3 times a year, so if the turf builder bag says it covers 5000 sq. ft., stretch it to 20,000 sq. ft. on zoysia.  
Other things beside shade can stress the grass.  Children, pets and flowing water can cause significant soil compaction, so consider aerating every other year if the grass appears to be thinning.
It's going to be a judgement call on your part to determine how much direct sun the different areas get.  Some of the area may still need to be monkey grass or possibly ivy.  You are trying to grow a pasture in the woods...it doesn't happen in nature, just in our yards.  Jim