best sod for shade in San Diego, CA

da********@ya***.com – posted 05 February 2004 15:22

I have a ~1200sqft yard in San Diego, CA that has fairly large eucalyptus and pepper trees on both sides. As a result, I am looking for one of the most shade tolerant types of sod to install. The weather gets down to the low 40s in winter and only gets into or above the 90s in the summer. Most people in San Diego seem to install a tall or dwarf fescue (Marathon), but that requires a little more sun than I seem to get. I have seen some references online to St Augustine being more shade tolerant, but no one in San Diego seems to know much about it. Any ideas? Anyone know of St Augustine being installed in the San Diego area and growing in relatively shady areas? Thanks.

wdrake – posted 05 February 2004 16:35

Take a look athttp://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/filelibrary/2557/8223.pdf

da********@ya***.com – posted 06 February 2004 14:20

Looks like a fine fescue is better for shade than a tall fescue. In San Diego, where the summers get in the 90s for several weeks, would a fine fescue grow? Anybody have experience with a fine fescue in San Diego? Is the shade tolerance of a fine fescue significantly better than that of a tall fescue?

tommy – posted 07 February 2004 21:18

St. Augustine would be your best bet- albiet the most expensive. Tall fescue does pretty well in the shade, but if there are a lot of tree roots in the area – it will require more water compared to St. Augustine. Fine fescue does well in the shade….but its not good in the heat, and its not available in sod. Tom (turf fanatic here in the San Diego area)