AY-14 Shade trees are an important and prominent feature in most lawnscapes. Though trees provide cooling for us and our homes, trees are very competitive with turf, causing turfgrasses to decline in shade.
Trees compete with grasses for light, water, and nutrients.
Additionally, air flow under trees is usually restricted, increasing humidity and turfgrass disease pressure. In response, turfgrass stand density decreases as turfgrass plants become more succulent with elongated leaves and restricted roots. These factors make maintaining a dense, healthy turf in shade a challenge, if not an impossibility. Turf performs best in full sun with a minimum of four to six hours of full sun per day. Before struggling to maintain turfgrass underneath trees, evaluate the need for turfgrass on the area.