The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California
Small Home Landscaping
Lawns in Shade
The problems involved in shade are the lack of sunlight and the competition of tree roots which rob the soil and grass of moisture and plant food. The ground tends to become hard and dry so that extra care in soil preparation, watering and feeding are necessary. Spreading several inches of topsoil and fertilizer is regular practice and helps for a time. But if the trees are of the surface-rooting kind like Norway maple, beech and similar trees, the roots will soon invade the new soil.
The more sunlight you can get into the area the better the chances for the lawn. Cutting off some of the lower limbs of the trees will help. Also, try cutting some of the branches out of the dense growth high up.
If the soil is thin and packed hard, loosen it a few inches with a digging fork, then add topsoil or a layer of peatmoss, or commercial humus. Spread fertilizer at the rate of 3 lbs. to 100 square ft. Use the same quantity of ground limestone, then seed with a grass mixture especially designed for a shady site. Loosening the soil under the trees will not harm them unless they are evergreens.
Leave the grass at least two inches high in a shady area. Close cutting will ruin the grass in one season unless, of course, there is sufficient sunlight and the trees are well spaced. Maintain a regular program of watering and fertilizing. In spring, as growth begins, apply about 3 pounds of grass fertilizer per 100 square ft.; in late June, two pounds and, in late August or early September, another three pounds. Each fall and spring, scatter two pounds of seed over the same area to keep bare areas covered.
Lawn Maintenance
Like all plants, grass must be given attention. In spring, rake over the lawn to remove dead grass, weeds and to clean off the surface. Where there are thin or bare
spots, loosen the soil and sow some seeds. It is better, too, to sow a light quantity of seed over the entire lawn. When the surface has somewhat dried, roll with a 250 lb. roller. As growth begins, apply grass fertilizer, 3 lbs. per 100 square ft. (Don't roll the lawn when it's wet as you'll pack the surface). Spring growth is fast. Vigorous grass will require mowing twice a week at first. Usually the clippings are removed for, if thick, they will collect in wads and kill the grass underneath. Should the weather be dry in late spring, water the ground until it is moist at least six inches deep. Don't sprinkle—you'll do more harm than good.
