With only four hours of sun or less daily, you are going to have a
difficult time trying to establish a lawn in this area - lawn grasses just
need more sun than this, even those tolerant of shadier conditions. Why
not conisder replacing the lawn with a shade tolerant groundcover? Will be
far less maintenance in the long run.

pam - gardengal



cheryl wrote:

hi all,
i am hoping someone has some advice. i live in a condo building in
sunnyvale, CA. (silicon valley) i think it is sunset western zone 15
or 16, if that makes a difference. on the north side of our
four-story building is a struggling lawn. there is a melaluca (sp?)
tree in the middle, and some trees on the north edge; it does get some
sun, but not a lot. probably under 4 hours per day, and less in some
areas. i am guessing the soil is adobe-like. i think now it is a
mixture of bluegrass, bentgrass, fescue, crabgrass and mushrooms.
obviously not all of it on purpose. or any of it. there is a small
muni golf course within 100 yards which may contribute to the variety.
our landscape maint. crew doesn't seem to know how to fix it. we
dont have tons of money to spend, so putting seed and/or soil on top
is probably best. sod is not likely to be funded. they suggested rye
(seed), but from what i have found, it doesnt seem like rye likes
shade. also, the lawn doesn't drain that well. anyone have any
suggestions of what to overseed with to thicken it up? any other
tips?

thanks so much
cheryl