With spring long gone, buds on the trees and shrubs have fully grown into beautiful leaves dancing in the wind, casting a shady refuge in your yard to escape the summer heat. Just like you, there are several species of turfgrass that also don’t mind spending time in the shade! Understanding how shade tolerant a type of grass is can be helpful when looking to purchase the right seed for your lawn. Everyone has those pesky bare spots under the tree where Spot routinely ends his heroic squirrel chase, right before tracking mud all over your carpet! Let’s take a look at the main types of grasses grown in Washington and figure out how we can keep your lawn full and spotless!
Low Shade Tolerance - Kentucky Bluegrass & Perennial Ryegrass
These two are the Arnold Schwarzenegger of grasses. You can run, jump, skip, hop, roll, and slide on them and the response you’ll receive from these gritty grasses is, “I’ll be back.” And, just like Arnold loves that California sunshine, Kentucky Bluegrass and Perennial Ryegrass also need full sun to be happy. These grasses deserve to be on full display in the sunniest spots in your lawn, but too much shade on them will be met with the response, “Hasta La Vista, Baby.”
Moderate Shade Tolerance - Tall Fescue
The next grass on our list does well in a variety of places in your lawn, from sun to part shade. It’s dynamic and tough, like Samuel L. Jackson. And just like his character Nick Fury joined forces with the Avengers, tall fescue is great to blend with the other grasses mentioned on this list for adding diversity and hardiness to your lawn. That way it can handle whatever nature throws at it. Well, except maybe Thanos…
High Shade Tolerance - Hard, Slender, and Creeping Red Fescue
When it comes to surviving in the shade, no turfgrasses do it better than the Hard, Slender, and Creeping Red Fescues. Low maintenance is their claim to fame, with low requirements for fertilizer, water, and mowing. So, this group also being shade tolerant is another huge plus! Although not quite to the extreme as Sigourney Weaver surviving perpetual darkness in those Alien movies, these fescues can live where others on this list simply can’t. Just don’t expect them to ward off an alien invasion, at least, for now.
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