Growing Bermuda in the shade

Dave in N. E. Arkansas – posted 27 May 2001 23:45

I have a beautiful Bermuda grass lawn that is thick and lush all around the yard except under my two shade trees. In those areas the grass is very thin. Some of the grass under the trees hasn’t even turned green yet. Is there a Bermuda hybrid I can grow under my trees that thrives in the shade?

wdrake – posted 28 May 2001 03:19

I’m not aware of any bermudagrass cultivars that will do what you want. All have poor poor shade tolerance. Suggest you consider something other than grass in these areas. —Bill Drake Niceville FL

Skastafari – posted 24 October 2002 09:59

Alot of lawn lovers really hate the idea, but there are some really nice synthetic lawns on the market now that would work really well under shade tress. It might be worth investigating if you like the look of grass under tress. I just grow ferns under my tree.

Brad – posted 24 October 2002 11:55

This is not what you want to hear, but every type of Bermuda needs at least 6 – 8 hours of DIRECT sunlight to thrive. Anything less and it will be very thin and leggy. An alternative might be to go with Emerald Zoysias. Its appearance is somewhat similar to Bermuda, and it can be mowed very low with a reel mower like Bermuda. Most importantly, while not completetly shade tolerant, it does much better in semi-shaded and partly-sunny areas when compared to Bermuda. The only real downside in my mind is the cost and slow growing aspect. Seeding is not an option with Emerald Zoysias, so you have to go with sprigs or sod and the sod is very expensive. Sprigs work but it will take a long time to grow in, especially compared to fast growing / spreading Bermuda.

boona – posted 20 August 2011 16:14

I’ve got some kind of weed that looks just like bermuda except it is about 50% bigger. The peculiar thing is that it grows in the shade. I am trying to baby it and it has spread very well.