Do you know how to replant a lawn from seed?

[Alicia64]

We rent and I want to keep our lawn nice, but. . .

 

1) we're on the East Coast and we have a giant tall tree in our front yard. It drops some kind of nut thing and TONS of leaves.

 

2) Because there's so much shade, it's hard to keep a lawn nice. The owners actually kept it relatively fine w/ only one "bald" patch where there's a lot of shade.

 

3) My dh is not into yard work -- which is part of the problem.

 

4) Can you point me in the right direction -- a link? suggestions? where to start?

 

I don't want my land lord seeing our front "lawn" and getting upset.

 

In February we're pruning our crepe myrtle -- that hasn't had it in at least two years. If you have any crepe myrtle suggestions, I'm all ears.

 

Thanks,

 

Alley

[Susan C.]

We lived in Virginia for four years. We had to completely redo a centipede lawn. Very picky! I think its what everyone else had.... Had to aerate every fall, reseed, it browned out in the summer. We had a lot of trees so it grew fine in the shade. The neighbors had even more shade, their solution? Pebbles and ivy. It actually looked nice. Ivy in landscape areas, gravel in play areas. No mowing.

 

And the crepe myrtle, please oh please don't just hack it all off at a certain height. Crepes do better by thinning. There is a funny article in Southern Living's archives called "Crepe Murder."

[In The Great White North]

It's possible that the problem isn't really shade, but water.  The tree is blocking the water under it also.

 

To fix it:

 

1. Rake up all the leaves and nuts as they fall.  A layer of wet leaves will kill the grass every time, no matter what else you do.

 

2. Rake the dirt to break it up a bit and throw grass seed all over it, liberally. Buy grass seed designed for shade.

 

3. Cover with hay til it germinates.  (A layer of hay will kill the seedling grass too, so you have to remove it once they sprout.)

 

4.  Water lightly til it germinates, and regularly thereafter.

 

5.  Add more seed in the thin areas.

 

Other options:

 

1.  Put a circle of bark mulch around the base of the tree.

 

2.  Put a circle of ground cover under the tree. (Is the creeping myrtle under the tree?)

[Mrs Mungo]

You might need to check the acidity of the soil. Hardwood trees will make the soil too acidic for grass to grow. You might need to fix that.

[laundrycrisis]

I tend to oversimplify things, but it generally works for me.....we just buy a bag of grass seed in a variety that likes shade and sprinkle it around the shady area.  Then we keep it somewhat watered until the grass shows up.  We don't do anything complicated at all. 

 

When we had our patio put in, there was an area around it where all the grass had been torn up.  The contractor - a landscaping pro - stuck his hand into a bag of grass seed and scattered it around, just like we do, so I guess we were doing it right !  He also put down some straw because we have dogs and it was bare mud there.  He told us to keep it moist, not wet, for about two weeks. 

[Alicia64]

It's possible that the problem isn't really shade, but water.  The tree is blocking the water under it also.

 

To fix it:

 

1. Rake up all the leaves and nuts as they fall.  A layer of wet leaves will kill the grass every time, no matter what else you do.

 

2. Rake the dirt to break it up a bit and throw grass seed all over it, liberally. Buy grass seed designed for shade.

 

3. Cover with hay til it germinates.  (A layer of hay will kill the seedling grass too, so you have to remove it once they sprout.)

 

4.  Water lightly til it germinates, and regularly thereafter.

 

5.  Add more seed in the thin areas.

 

Other options:

 

1.  Put a circle of bark mulch around the base of the tree.

 

2.  Put a circle of ground cover under the tree. (Is the creeping myrtle under the tree?)

 

Sorry to ask such simplton questions:

 

1) Which month should I rake the dirt and throw grass seed and cover with hay? Now in Jan? In March?

 

2) How do I check acidity in soil? (Thank you Mrs. Mungo!)

 

3) "Put a circle of bark mulch" around the base of which tree? The big one in front or the crepe myrtle?

 

4) The crepe myrtle is up against the house -- it's as tall as our second floor. It's not near the front yard tree.

 

Susan: I saw that funny "crepe murder" column. I'll make sure the landlord wants the crepe myrtle thinned and not murdered! :)

 

Laundry: I'm all about making it simple too. I just don't want to throw down seed and end up with nothing.

 

Also, everyone: directly underneath the tree is a lot of dirt that once had ivy in it. Ivy is pulled up. I don't want to deal w/ weeds there come spring. What do you recommend? My thought is to tack down the black tarp stuff and throw pretty rocks or bark on top.

 

We don't even know if they'll extend our lease past Sept. (because they want prefer to sell) so I don't want to spend a fortune on this yard, but I want to do my ethical part at the same time.

 

Thanks for all your help!!!

 

Alley

 

 

[KungFuPanda]

We have too much shade or acid soil or grass. I have a huge beech tree out front. As it grows, the front yard gets less grass. We grow moss and ivy under the tree, but no grass. I'm not even trying until that tree comes down :-/

[In The Great White North]

 

1) Which month should I rake the dirt and throw grass seed and cover with hay? Now in Jan? In March?

 

It has to be 60F to germinate.  My Dad always said to put it out in the fall so the snow covers it.  Then it would thaw and germinate in the spring like all the other grass.  We have crows around here, so I don't do that.  In the end, I don't think it matters.

 

 

 

3) "Put a circle of bark mulch" around the base of which tree? The big one in front or the crepe myrtle?

 

The one with no grass under it.  The bigger the circle, the less grass you have to worry about.  Or maybe the landlord would let you put bark under the whole thing?  

 

 

 

Also, everyone: directly underneath the tree is a lot of dirt that once had ivy in it. Ivy is pulled up. I don't want to deal w/ weeds there come spring. What do you recommend? My thought is to tack down the black tarp stuff and throw pretty rocks or bark on top.

 

In my experience, the black tarp stuff only works for a year or two (if you're leaving in Sep., it could be your answer). The ivy will come back.  Or you could just plant the grass there and mow it. If you keep it short, the grass has an advantage over the weeds.  Once it gets a few inches tall, the weeds have the advantage.

[Pawz4me]

A lot really depends on where you are (geographically) and whether you're planting a warm season grass or a cool season grass.

 

You might do some poking around online, particularly look at your state's department of agriculture and, if your state has one, an agricultural-focused university.  I'm in NC, and here are two examples of sources available to us.  They may be of help to you if you're in a similar climate, but I'd try Googling "planting grass [your state]" and see what you can find.  The site preparation and soil preparation sections in the second link give very good general information that should be helpful.

 

Lawn and Garden Tips

 

Carolina Lawns

 

In general, once you do your seeding you want to cover it with straw or a mat specially made for covering seed.  Water it lightly about three times a day.  You want to keep it constantly moist but not soaked.  Once you see tiny green sprouts you can water less often but more deeply.

 

To have our soil tested here we can get soil sample boxes from any county's agricultural extension office.  The boxes come with instructions for taking a soil sample and where to mail it for testing.  I *believe* it's a free service here, although I could be wrong and there may be a small fee.  DH is the one who usually handles that.

[MBM]

We rent and I want to keep our lawn nice, but. . .

 

1) we're on the East Coast and we have a giant tall tree in our front yard. It drops some kind of nut thing and TONS of leaves.

 

2) Because there's so much shade, it's hard to keep a lawn nice. The owners actually kept it relatively fine w/ only one "bald" patch where there's a lot of shade.

 

3) My dh is not into yard work -- which is part of the problem.

 

4) Can you point me in the right direction -- a link? suggestions? where to start?

 

I don't want my land lord seeing our front "lawn" and getting upset.

 

In February we're pruning our crepe myrtle -- that hasn't had it in at least two years. If you have any crepe myrtle suggestions, I'm all ears.

 

Here are three articles that explain how to prune crepe myrtles. As you prune, take your time and step back often to see how its shape is changing.

 

http://thedailysouth.southernliving.com/2009/02/24/what-concerns-p/

http://www.wikihow.com/Prune-a-Crepe-Myrtle

http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2012/12/wrongheaded_harsh_pruning_of_c.html

 

Regarding the lawn, you will definitely want to buy a grass seed made for shade.

 

1. If you have mostly soil, take a rake and rough up the surface about 1/4" deep. The seed does not need to be buried but will grow more easily if the soil is not compacted. (So don't walk there too much!)

 

2. Then sprinkle the seed around. The back of the package should show you how much to put down. I usually add a bit more.

 

3. Then thoroughly mist the seed often. Misting is better initially because it won't scoot the seeds around too much. You don't want the seed to dry out much. <--- that is really important as the seed starts to grow and when the grass is young! If you want, you can set up a hose with a sprinkler that will cover the seeded area. Leave it in place and just turn on at the spigot whenever you need to water. That way you don't have to stand out there and hand water multiple times per day.

 

4. The package should mention how long it takes for seeds to germinate. Make sure you don't have an old batch of seeds. They'll probably work but not as many will sprout.

 

Here's a seed mix made for dense shade:

 

http://www.scotts.com/smg/goprod/turf-builder-dense-shade-grass-seed/prod10280026/

 

​ETA: I agree about putting some kind of hardwood mulch under the big tree where the ivy used to be. About 3" and don't pile it up over the trunk because that can kill the tree eventually. Keep it about 3" or so from the trunk. If some leftover ivy sprouts up through it, just pull them up. You might have to do this a number of times, but it should do the trick.

[zoobie]

If you've kept up mowing and raking, I can't see how you're responsible for reseeding the lawn! I'd tell your landlord that despite your upkeep, the lawn is dead in certain places. Ours was like this, and we had to pay for it to be scraped and leveled with some natural French drains added. The prior owners never could keep grass there for more than a season, going back 50 years. It was a drainage issue. No way would renters be responsible for that. Let him solve the problem.

[Alicia64]

If you've kept up mowing and raking, I can't see how you're responsible for reseeding the lawn! I'd tell your landlord that despite your upkeep, the lawn is dead in certain places. Ours was like this, and we had to pay for it to be scraped and leveled with some natural French drains added. The prior owners never could keep grass there for more than a season, going back 50 years. It was a drainage issue. No way would renters be responsible for that. Let him solve the problem.

 

I hear you. I really do, but my worry is that we didn't rake up the gazillion leaves quickly enough in the fall -- and I do mean "gazillion" -- and I finally went out at one point and used the rake to make piles.

 

I thought dh would get the piles into bags relatively quickly, but he didn't. So I feel responsible. The grass never looked great, but I still feel responsible for how badly it looks now.

 

Alley

[Alicia64]

Here are three articles that explain how to prune crepe myrtles. As you prune, take your time and step back often to see how its shape is changing.

 

http://thedailysouth.southernliving.com/2009/02/24/what-concerns-p/

http://www.wikihow.com/Prune-a-Crepe-Myrtle

http://www.nola.com/homegarden/index.ssf/2012/12/wrongheaded_harsh_pruning_of_c.html

 

Regarding the lawn, you will definitely want to buy a grass seed made for shade.

 

1. If you have mostly soil, take a rake and rough up the surface about 1/4" deep. The seed does not need to be buried but will grow more easily if the soil is not compacted. (So don't walk there too much!)

 

2. Then sprinkle the seed around. The back of the package should show you how much to put down. I usually add a bit more.

 

3. Then thoroughly mist the seed often. Misting is better initially because it won't scoot the seeds around too much. You don't want the seed to dry out much. <--- that is really important as the seed starts to grow and when the grass is young! If you want, you can set up a hose with a sprinkler that will cover the seeded area. Leave it in place and just turn on at the spigot whenever you need to water. That way you don't have to stand out there and hand water multiple times per day.

 

4. The package should mention how long it takes for seeds to germinate. Make sure you don't have an old batch of seeds. They'll probably work but not as many will sprout.

 

Here's a seed mix made for dense shade:

 

http://www.scotts.com/smg/goprod/turf-builder-dense-shade-grass-seed/prod10280026/

 

​ETA: I agree about putting some kind of hardwood mulch under the big tree where the ivy used to be. About 3" and don't pile it up over the trunk because that can kill the tree eventually. Keep it about 3" or so from the trunk. If some leftover ivy sprouts up through it, just pull them up. You might have to do this a number of times, but it should do the trick.

 

Thanks MBM -- this product you linked looks great. Thanks for all your advice.

 

Thanks everyone!

 

Alley

 

[ZooRho]

find a small local garden shop and ask them what they suggest.  I love our local store.  they do regular how to classes.  

We need to redo our yard.  but we need to kill it all first and for our area-VA coastal it needs to be done in July so we have a bit of time to wait now.