Located North-Central Florida. 9A/9B area.
What could I grow as a good ground cover in my back yard? We have a great back yard and love playing in it with our kid, but it’s mostly a dirt pit with scattered weeds. This really becomes an issue after a rain when it becomes a mud pit and just isn’t enjoyable with the kids. This photo was taken around 1pm, so this is about maximum sun.
I know with the heavy oak/camphor canopy will make it hard to grow much consistently, but are there any options that will grow well in this shade and provide a durable ground cover? I can irrigate with a portable sprinkler but would like to minimize irrigation if at all possible once it is established (I know I might be getting into pipe dream territory)
I have tried reducing mowing frequency to 1-2 months in the summer and 2-3 in the winter (just enough to not be a jungle) in hopes some sort of clover or something would take over, but no luck so far.
by YoureGatorBait
1 Comment
As far as turfgrass goes, I think st augustine would be the best way to go. They have shade tolerant varieties like Seville, palmetto, bitter blue, etc. But even they are gonna need 6-10 hours a day of partial sunlight. Sod and lack of consistent irrigation can become an issue, too. It’s a lot of work to get it to establish with manual irrigation, and results will vary.
Then, the maintenance issues. If you have kids/dogs/critters playing on the lawn, it will become dirt and mud sooner or later. Hopefully someone here has a more sustainable ground cover idea. Maybe some mulch lol