Bare area under Oak tree - St Augustine, Bermuda mix

CCC/Tocapet · Joined: 17 Jul 2003 Posts: 1 Location: ,

My problem is no grass growing under the Oak tree in the front yard. The lawn is a mix of Bermuda and St. Augustine. Most of it looks pretty good. But I can't get anything to grow in the area between the house and the tree that is always in the shade. I had heard that St. Augustine could handle shade, but
in this case it won't grow. I notice the same thing in some of my neighbor's yards, but not as bad as mine. Any ideas on what to do here? Ground cover?
etc?
Any help would be appreciated.

Tom Pettit
Fort Worth, Texas
tocapet@charter.net
[/b]

Dchall_San_Antonio · Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 2001 Location: San Antonio,TEXAS

It should grow if there is nothing wrong with the soil.

How much and how often are you watering? It should be no more than once per week.

How often and how high are you mowing? It should be no shorter than 3 inches.

What have you fertilized with this year? It should have been corn meal or other organic protein source.

Have you used any -icides in that area in the past 12 months? This could be a killer, literally.

Do you know of any other reasons why grass might not grow there. For example I have a place where I assembled a children's swing set made from CCA lumber about 9 years ago. That spot is still bare. So, any chemical spills you know of?

Have you ever had the soil tested to see if anything major needs to be done?

If you really just want to go with ground cover, I have about 1/3 of my front yard in Asiatic jasmine that I have never watered in 10 years. So I like that.