|
| My father-in-law has a 35 year old silver maple that cast a shadow over the front lawn. Hostas, Vinca, and Lily of the Valley have been planted underneath the tree. Grass grows there but it's rather thin.
The conventional wisdom is that you cannot grow grass underneath a maple tree, but I notice this thread: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lawns/msg1018265632036.html Question, despite the tree, can grass actually grow thicker there if I replace the KGB grass with something like red fescue. The area is fairly low traffic. What else can be done? Thin out a bit of the bottom branches? Paul |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by bassplayer7 6 (My Page) on Sat, Oct 1, 11 at 13:25
| I've never heard of that conventional wisdom. I've seen a lot of grass under maple trees. A yard I sometimes more is mostly shade, yet the yard is decently thick (Tall fescue). It won't be as thick, but still should be fine. Thinning out some of the branches would help. I wouldn't recommend red fescue. |
|
| Grass can suffer under a maple for two reasons. The first is the "fight" for water/nutrients and the second is shade. Around here, the shade isn't really a bad thing, since the high altitude means that filtered sunlight can actually be preferable. But in most places, that can be a problem. Maples also have a lot of roots near the surface, so they can be resource hogs. You can't do anything about the sunlight (except maybe judicious pruning) but you can water and fertilize more under the tree to see if that helps. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Lawn Care Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.