Farmers Weekly Review

There are a few questions that are considered “regulars” every year. One of the most common concerns turf and trees.

The call will start with, “My grass is so thin,” and when asked where this is occurring — all over or just in a specific location — at least three-quarters of the time the response is, “under my trees.”
Can you grow grass under large shade trees? Sure, but wait, there is a qualifier to that. You can start grass and it will grow for about eight weeks, but then, just like the year before, and the year before that, it starts to struggle, thin, and die off.

It doesn’t matter if you buy Billy-Bob’s grass seed for deep shade, or if you use a generic blend, the results are the same.
Back to my old saying — right plant, right place. Turfgrass is a full sun plant. Six to eight hours of sun for optimum growth. And remember, our grass is plural, made up of tens of thousands of single, tiny grass plants.
Have you ever seen a big tree tipped out of the ground after a big storm? Do you see that wide pancake of a root system? That is the other issue with grass vs trees. The root systems of trees aren’t a single giant root tunneling to the middle of the earth. That is a big misunderstanding.

Tree roots grow more out than down.
If you go out and look at your trees now and look at the outermost branches, draw an imaginary line to the ground at that outermost point on both sides. Just beyond that area, which is called a dripline, are the most active-growing roots. And there is a thick mat of tree roots, just under the soil in the entire area under the tree. And that is turf’s biggest enemy.
Sure, the shade of trees does decrease the ability of those little grass plants to make more energy, because they are meant to be full sun, but the competition of the giant tree root system is the greatest foe of that little grass plant. Every bit of moisture, whether rain or water, is sucked up by the massive tree root system, leaving little for those tiny three-to-four-inch roots of your grass.

Why then does the grass thrive when you first plant it every spring to rejuvenate those bald spots under the trees? First, there is no heavy shade from early to mid-spring as the leaves on those deciduous trees are just emerging, so the grass seed gets a good start. But when the heavy shade comes, the grass can’t compete.

Some people just can’t give up the fight and plant grass every year, but remember, the eye is always drawn to the negative. So even though you might have a beautiful landscape, it is easy to notice that sad little area under the trees.
So what is a gardener/homeowner to do?

The solution is easy, and the options are vast! And the answer is the same, right plant, right place. The choices of shade tolerant plants aren’t limited to plain green. Little did you know that this may become one of the best landscaped areas of your yard.
The easiest solution for failing grass under shade trees is to just mulch the area out from the base of the tree, to where the grass seems to thrive. If you have several trees in a tight area, design-wise it is better to create a single bed out of the area instead of single bullseye circles around each tree.

Remember the golden rule of all mulching. NO landscape fabric-ever. NO volcano mulching, which means no big piles of mulch up against the bark of the tree: This will just cause more problems. Think donut instead (now I am hungry). Ideally, don’t put mulch up against the tree but create a ring around the tree with mulch no deeper than two to four inches thick.

One step up from just mulching is using a groundcover. We have a wide assortment of easy-care groundcovers from Baltic ivy to vinca, and so many more that are made for the shade, literally, and have stronger root systems that can tolerate those tree roots.
Often people are concerned that the groundcovers will “get away from them” spreading into the lawn, but no, you just mow the edge to keep them in check.

If you want to go a step further, don’t look at this area as a problem to be solved, but rather, a whole new canvas to landscape. Some of the most beautiful garden spaces I have ever seen are shaded areas under a tree, complete with native wildflowers like mayapple, native violet, jack in the pulpit, bloodroot. These are forest plants and do well under trees.

Don’t forget to add hosta to this shade pallet. Also take a look at lungwort (Pulmonaria spp.). Its odd name doesn’t give you a clue to its beauty. In early spring, flowers that start pink and turn blue grace the shade garden for weeks.

Dump the turf idea, and give shade a chance to bloom!

There are so many easy care alternatives to turf to plant under trees.