Let me guess, Live Oaks? If I remember correct, Nes Tesno is your city forrester, and has LOTS of horticulture experience. Call her, or Teas Nursery on Bellaire...
Worse comes to worst, PM me...

 

There is a new variation of St. Augustine called AmeriShade that is supposed to be very good. I have heard of people ripping out their whole yard of reg. St. Aug, and resodding with this stuff. It looks and feels great. I believe it is available at Turf Grass America.

 

There is a new variation of St. Augustine called AmeriShade that is supposed to be very good. I have heard of people ripping out their whole yard of reg. St. Aug, and resodding with this stuff. It looks and feels great. I believe it is available at Turf Grass America.

What about foot traffic... I have a double whammy now.. shade from trees and a large playground set along with heavy child/parent foot traffic.

 

What about foot traffic... I have a double whammy now.. shade from trees and a large playground set along with heavy child/parent foot traffic.

Hopefully, there's plenty of first hand accounts from members here. If not, check these forums out. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=amerishade+turfgrass&spell=1 I had never heard of it until a minute ago. Good luck.

 

I used to have problems with a couple of big oaks in my front yard. I tried a lot of different grasses, but no luck in the long term. Amerishade wasn't around then so maybe it work great.

The way I solved the problem was by having a tree service raise the canopy and prune the trees. I still had shade but the extra light made a real difference. The trees looked better and were healthier as well.

 

Any suggestions for shady & wet? Since they built a couple houses behind mine about half my backyard is constantly wet which is making my oak grow like bamboo and my grass die.

 

Amerishade is better than average, or even improved St. Augustine, but shade plus foot traffic is tough on a lawn. It can be done but takes money. Best option is to get a Certified Arborist to lift and thin the trees (but DO NOT "Lion Tail") and keep the grass well watered and fertilized and increase mowing height gradually to the top of your mowers height range. Short + St Augustine is not a good combination, it is NOT a golf green grass.

 

A landscaper that I sub for has been installing Amerishade left and right. Being old school, I believe it when I see it. It has been making it, but I baby that stuff for them.

Mow high and avoid high nitrogen in shady areas. People will have a weak lawn, put out Turfbuilder at a high rate and then watch the meltdown begin.

Nothing survives foot traffic well. Your best bet would be bermuda seeds and hope for the best.

And I do service West U. If you want an opinion, drop me a PM and I'll check you out when I am out your way. At least give you some suggestions.

 

I put in some amerishade on an area that only gets 3-4 hours of sun per day. It has been down for 4 months and is doing well. The only areas of stress or the high traffic areas from a party in late May, but it is coming back now. I think it is going to do well. Turf Grass America has it between Wharton and Boling and you can go get it. It is quite pricey though. I think picking it up still cost over $ 100.00 per pallet.

 

I've got a patch of pre-release Amerishade at our science building thats been there about 4 years. Looks good except where the students wear a goat path in it.

 

I appreciate all the feedback. Not only do I battle the tree shade but since they build lot line to lot line in this neighboorhood, it really decreases the opportunity to get direct sunlight in your backyard.

 

I haven't read all the replies...but if you are laying the grass in the "green" season.....you may want to consider laying it during the winter off "sleeping" months...then in the spring......it should wake up much better. After you lay it down, give it a small dose of fertilizer...Scotts Summerizing works WELL.

 

http://950kprc.com/pages/gardenline.html

Check out the fertilizing schedule and brands/types for Texas.