What type of grass will g... - Ask Extension
What type of grass will grow best in lousy soil and shade?
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What type of grass will g... #151023
Asked September 04, 2013, 12:06 PM EDT
What type of grass will grow best in lousy soil and shade?
Worcester County Maryland
Expert Response
The best grass seed for the Eastern Shore sandy soils are
the Turf Type Tall Fescues. They are
drought tolerant (once they are established), have no serious insect pests and
only have 1 disease, Brown Patch, which can easily be controlled by only
applying fertilizer to the lawn in the fall and they will grow in light
shade. For a shadier location the Fine Fescues
(also called creeping red, sheep or chewing fescues) are better suited. They do not handle a lot of foot traffic and
don’t stand up to sports activities but will grow in the filtered light under
most trees. The exceptions are pine
trees which are evergreen all year long and maples which always cast a very
dense shade. Now is
the perfect time to overseed your lawn with a good Turf Type Tall Fescue or Fine
Fescue grass seed. First though, you
should get a soil test to determine what nutrients your soil needs as well as
how much lime needs to be added. A soil
that is too acid may have all the nutrients needed but they will not be
available to the plant. Adding the right
amount of lime will slow down the growth of many weeds and increase the health
of grass. Here is a fact sheet for all
the reasons to test your soil plus a list of soil testing labs that work well
with Maryland soils. http://extension.umd.edu/sites/default/files/_images/programs/hgic/Publications/HG110%20Selecting%20and%20Using%20a%20Soil%20Testing%20Lab%20w_chart.pdf
Here is an excellent fact sheet on the steps you need to
take to overseed your lawn. If you have at least 60-90% of the lawn in
fair conditions, it is best to just overseed the lawn. As you have a shady area, it is best to just
overseed. Try to established the new
grass before any leaf raking needs to be done.
http://extension.umd.edu/sites/default/files/_images/programs/hgic/Publications/HG102%20Lawn%20Establishment%20Renovation%20Overseeding.pdf
Here is a list of seeds for your lawn including both the
Turf Type Tall Fescue and the Fine Fescue.
http://extension.umd.edu/sites/default/files/_images/programs/hgic/Publications/non_HGIC_FS/tt77-2012.pdf
