I have a large swamp oak tree in the front yard. I tried to plant grass last spring. Oh by the way I live in Zephyrhills, FL.
I was told that I need to put lime in the area but some say that lime will kill the tree. Is there any solution to this problem? I also had some topsoil hauled into the area and planted new seed but with no luck. Any suggestion

Lee

I know nothing about swamp oaks, so this may be way off base. That said, we had an oak in our front yard that had been dropping acorns onto the yard for years. The acorns had been ground into the soil so compactly that there was no grass there.

I didn't realize this was the problem until I was raking for a different reason and discovered acorns about 4" deep. I spent several successive days raking out acorns. When I got rid of them - Voila!! - grass!

Hello there!

I reside in Fl myself and all I can think of is to use lime and test the soil. Also, since all oaks are voracious water drinkers, make certain that there is enough water for grass to grow!

Sincerely,

Dustin Nelson
Lawn Mower Replacement Parts

Lawneq.com

Just took a quick look at Zephyrhills. It looks to be very shady. There is no seeded variety of grass that will grow in the shade in Florida. Your only choice is St Augustine. Are you willing to water it once a week? If so, then it is pretty easy to grow. Set your mower to the highest setting and mow weekly. Fertilizer 4-5 times per year and you should be good to go.

Don't apply lime unless you have a soil test that tells you which kind of lime and how much to apply. At best you would waste your money. At worst you could create a muck that will never go away.