I have trees (oak) with no grass at all in a new apt. What & how can I plant to have a lawn ?
Question:I live in the U.S. middle state of S.C.
Answers:
First of all, you should plant NOTHING under your oak trees (from the trunk out to the edge of the farthest branches). You should NEVER water under a oak tree. Winter rain is quite sufficient once the tree is a year or two old. Excess water will kill your tree and will increase the likelihood of diseases (oak root fungus and root rot being the primary ones).
Let all the leaves that fall from your tree STAY where they fall. The roots are very close to the surface and need the protection. As the leaves compost, they become a very rich mulch that feeds your tree and will turn your soil soft. The leaves also hold in any moisture for the shallow roots. (This also saves you a WHOLE lot of work!!).
Do not put rocks under your trees. They cut off oxygen for the roots and keep the leaf mulch from getting to the roots.
Following these rules will give you a very NATURAL setting. Just look around at oaks growing on hillsides (not yards) near you. You will notice that nothing grows under them, they do not get watered and they do very fine, thank you!
Good Luck!!
Oak trees are shallow rooters, so any tilling you do for lawn prep might damage the roots.
You could try a ground cover like irish moss instead, after carefully preparing the soil by hand.
If the trees are fairly dense that is probably the reason that grass won't grow. Grass needs at least some sunlight to
thrive well. At least that's what we hear from an arborist. Just look to nature in it's natural form, you'll see in woods there isn't grass ... open fields have the greens.
Many oaks drop leaves that are heavily acidic. You might need to amend your soil to deal with this.
get some shade grass to plant. You can find this by reading the packages or asking at the nursery. This grass in shade tollerant and is slow growing due to lack of sun. This will not give you a full lawn as it does in the sun.
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