St. Augustine in the shadow

juno – posted 13 April 2007 12:53

I inherited a property in Houston Texas about six months ago. The backyard was in horrible condition. Most of the St. Augustine was gone due to ants and other bugs.

This spring only half of the backyards St. Augustine grass came to life. The other half (shaded area became a dessert).

Couple of weeks ago I planted some St. Augustine sod (6”x6” blocks about 3 feet apart). The grass in the shade seamed to grow very slowly if any, I am starting to wander if I need to put down different type of grass in the shaded areas.

What do you think? Any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. The shaded area only get’s about 3 hours of direct sunlight.

tommy – posted 13 April 2007 13:27

The shade is not the problem, but the roots are! You may need to water and fertilize twice as much in that area, because the roots are stealing moisture and nutrients.