GG reader Tom writes:
Do you have any suggestions for growing grass under pine trees? I have a row of mature pines that border my property. I know they are acidic, but I would like to have some kind of ground cover, and would prefer some type of grass.

Foamflower is your friend

Here’s the scoop:
It’s pretty hard to grow grass under pine trees. Even grass seed mixes for shade may not do so well because the shade tends to be so deep and the roots of the pine trees so shallow. If you remove some of the lower the limbs of the tree, you may be able to grow grass. But a shade-tolerant ground cover is a better idea.

So consider planting something made for the shade:
Japanese spurge (Pachysandra terminalis)
Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans)
Bigroot geranium (Geranium macrorhizum)
Spotted dead nettle (Lamium maculatum)
Periwinkle (Vinca minor)
Wild ginger (Asarum canadense)
Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis)
Lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis)
Barrenwort (Epimedium spp.)
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifolia)
or that Minnesota favorite, hosta.

What do you have growing under your conifer canopy? Do you have any low maintenance solutions for Tom?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 12th, 2007 at 10:55 am and is filed under Flowers + Grasses, Tree + shrub care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.