What lawn grass grows well in the shade? Speaking in terms of my lawn service area in Greater Columbia, S.C. the three yard grasses that come to mind are Zeon Zoysia, Winter Rye Grass and St. Augustine in that order. Here's Why:
Zeon Zoysia is a great pick if you have items like sticks, cones, hickory nuts, acorns, or any other debris falling from the trees above. The reason is that Zeon is a tighter knit turf that is more easily cleared of these items with a blower. The debris stays more at the top of the turf rather than nestling down toward the soil and the root system. Zeon is also known for its shade tolerant qualities.
Winter ryegrass will grow just about anywhere as long as the weather is cool and there is sufficient moisture. Rye will definately grow in the shade. If you are in the Lake Murray Area and you have that moist, compacted red clay, shaded type yard, rye is sometimes all that will grow due to these conditions. Rye grass is often used to overseed the hot season grasses (Bermuda is best if overseeding with rye) at banks, offices, and Strip Malls from October to about March to keep a green, healthy appearance.
St. Augustine Grass is another great pick for shady areas where nothing else will thrive and grow. In my experience though, St. Augustine is a grass who's pH level needs to be kept up with more than others. St. Augustine is also very suceptible to fungus, chinchbugs, and grubworms. Although St. Augustine does do decent in the shade here in S.C., from a maintenance standpoint it is very difficult to keep it healthy when there are acorns, hickory nuts, cones, sticks, etc present. These items get stuck down in the turf, near the root system, making it hard for the grass to thrive. Normally, these items can be blown away easily, but with St. Augustine, a significantly higher amount of time needs to be spent removing debris.
So the next time you are looking at that bare lawn and wondering which grass to plant that would work well in the shade, look up at the trees, determine if you have debris falling down on the turf, and consider the amount of light that is making its way to the ground.
