What to do if your Lawn is in the shade

Light is essential for healthy lawn growth

It’s a known fact that all grass needs a good amount of sunlight. However there are some basic pointers that can help aid healthy grass growth in areas where the sun seldom reaches.

The first obvious practical tip is to thin out all surrounding shrubbery and trees to permit more sunlight to reach the area. Every little ray of sunlight helps so don’t cut any corners! It’s also important to loosen the soil by using an aerator and add organic matter and to improve nutrients. A lawn that has been compacted by years of mowing is unlikely to yield good results, especially in the shade.

If these two gardening tips don’t yield the desired results after a few months it may be worth considering relaying your lawn. When considering laying a new lawn in a shaded area grasses such as Rye, Fescue and blue grass survive well with around 4 hours of sun a day. The seeds must be planted in well prepared soil and evenly spread.

New soils should be treated with starter fertilizer that includes increased levels of phosphorous which will help the development of strong roots. Once seeds have been planted and fertilized soil must then be racked. For proper germination seeds must be around 1cm below the surface.

Light watering a few times a day is all that is needed for the first week or so until the roots have had a proper chance to develop. Heavy watering may just wash the seeds away! Once the seeds begin to grow increase the watering to slightly heavier amounts and then cut back to around one watering per week when the grass begins to really sprout.