I'm looking for recommendations for a good shade tolerant grass, either seed or sod? I'm planting a new lawn in an area of my yard that gets about 3 hours of "direct" sunlight per day; the area is narrow (6') and long (30') and is flanked by my two-story house on the east and a 5' tall block wall on the west. I live in So. California. To give you an idea of the kind of grass I prefer, I like the look, feel, and growth rate of medium fescue. But I was told that my yard is too shady for fescue. If I have the choice, I also want a grass that doesn't go dormant in the winter (this isn't a deal killer though). Some help with this is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Kevin

Answer #1 · Brooks Wilson's Answer · Hi Kevin,

I have owned a nursery business for 22 years and owned and operated a landscape and lawn care business for 10 years prior to having the nursery. I've seen everything when it comes to turf grasses. Every year a brand new miracle Fescue seed or Bluegrass seed is introduced that will survive our hot summers in the South, and that will tolerate mostly shade. Until this year I have planted a new Fescue grass seed in my yard every year trying to find the one that will actually survive without getting Brown Patch fungus. I've never had success with any of the grass seeds. Finally this year I planted a new Fescue seed on March 1. It has survived. I still have 100% coverage, except for one little spot that gets no sunlight or filtered sun. I only get about 10-30% sun in the areas where it has survived. I live amongst the trees, big trees, so shade is abound. The new Fescue seed that I planted is called Gold Standard. My nursery company is now carrying it exclusively. We had the longest hottest summer in Georgia on record and the Gold Standard Fescue survived. We had many late afternoon showers that should have caused Brown Patch fungus, and the Gold Standard made it through with no fungus problems. Gold Standard Fescue is available only at Independent nurseries. Home depot and Lowes don't have it, or at least in our area they don't. You should give it a try. Make sure when planting the seed to use a good Lawn Starter Fertilizer and if your soil is acidic use plenty of pellitized lime. Fescue hates acidity. Early Fall is the best time to plant Fescue seed, however, I planted the Gold Standard in March and it did very well. Good luck with your lawn. Let me know how it does.

Hope this helps you out!

Brooks Wilson)