# Best Bermuda for shade tolerance



## JimH (Apr 20, 2020)

Hi all. I live in Kentucky and would like to kill my front yard and seed with Bermuda. I've read that cold tolerant cultivars have been developed (Arden 15, etc..). Am I stupid to try this??? Also, I have some shading due to trees and house. I've also read that some types are more shade tolerant than others...but maybe still not a good idea? These photos are at noon April 20. Sun will get behind house (behind my back as I took these photos) by 2pm or so. Obviosuly the trees will get fuller as they leaf too. Any advice appreciated. Thanks


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Get a DLI meter, measure the amount of light once the trees leaf out.

$100 to make sure you put the right plant in the right place.

Tiftuf, tifgrand, and celebration are shade tolerant versions of Bermuda. You may look into Tahoma 31 as well.

None of those come in seed; all vegetative propagation.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

There's no way I would try to plant any variety of Bermuda with all that shade. Just my opinion but even the shade tolerant varieties won't tolerate that much shade for long.


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## Mister Bill (Apr 12, 2019)

Redtwin said:


> There's no way I would try to plant any variety of Bermuda with all that shade. Just my opinion but even the shade tolerant varieties won't tolerate that much shade for long.


I agree. Shade tolerant Bermuda is 90% marketing hype and 10% reality in perfect scientifically controlled conditions. The shade tolerant varieties will eventually thin out and become weak in time when high sky direct sun is less than 8 hours. The shade tolerant varieties will stay greener than common or 419 during this period of demise, but the turf is anything but thick and lush, sparse green is the norm. Those who say they have had good luck growing these shade varieties in less sun are most likely only a couple years into growing it in those conditions. I've yet to see any Bermuda of any variety stand up to shade under a large tree for more than 5-6 years.


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## probasestealer (Apr 19, 2018)

Redtwin said:


> There's no way I would try to plant any variety of Bermuda with all that shade. Just my opinion but even the shade tolerant varieties won't tolerate that much shade for long.


This, I once tried at my old home. Sodded in late May, looked beautiful, but it began to thin in July/August. It never came back the next year, where it did, it was super thin.

I later tried Zoysia, same experience.

My current front yard in NC looks like yours. I grew Hogan's shade mix, mainly creeping/red fescue. It does great and never needs a thing.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Mister Bill said:


> Redtwin said:
> 
> 
> > There's no way I would try to plant any variety of Bermuda with all that shade. Just my opinion but even the shade tolerant varieties won't tolerate that much shade for long.
> ...


I recognize this is anecdotal, but I sprigged this area. It was bare soil, with sprigs, and bad irrigation coverage.

End of the first season, where the grass was growing into this area from the edges due to my poor irrigation setup









Second season with sand from leveling visible


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## Krs1 (Apr 2, 2020)

@Movingshrub what kind of bermuda do you have? What's the hoc?


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## NClawnnut78 (May 23, 2018)

If that's Tiff Tuff Bermuda I love it. Thats what is going in my back yard for a fescue to bermuda conversion. Once esablished I am going to plug the front yard which is all sun.


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## lucas287 (Jun 3, 2018)

NClawnnut78 said:


> If that's Tiff Tuff Bermuda I love it. Thats what is going in my back yard for a fescue to bermuda conversion. Once esablished I am going to plug the front yard which is all sun.


There isn't a bermuda variety that's anywhere close to as shade tolerant as your average tall fescue. As it's been mentioned, bermuda "shade" trials can be a bit misleading. Most of the time they grow them under shade canopies which give filtered sun all day, much different than being shaded by a home, privacy fence, or large tree. But there are tests that try to replicate the real world where trees provide the shade and those are good studies. But what happens is we see the results and think, for example, Tiftuf or Celebration scored #1! It must be shade tolerant! Compared to other bermudagrass...yes...but compared to a fescue, not so much. Also, few of these trials have been conducted across several years. New sod will happily persist under shade for a year or two but then will slowly decline. Add obsessive compulsive lawn care to the mix and now you've over handled a delicate part of the yard. It just takes a few scalps and verticuts to accelerate it's decline. Just food for thought...ask me how I know


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## jarrodsp71 (Oct 4, 2018)

This part of my lawn maybe gets sun for a couple hours a day and it's the worst part. I'm going to do some landscaping because it is always brown there. It has been that way for the last two summers. I wouldn't trust shade tolerant Bermuda.


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## 1FASTSS (Jul 11, 2018)

Redtwin said:


> There's no way I would try to plant any variety of Bermuda with all that shade. Just my opinion but even the shade tolerant varieties won't tolerate that much shade for long.


I agree, I sodded with Celebration with a large oak near by and while its starting to fill back in near that area it most likely will be a yearly thing...but 90% of the rest of my yard is full sun so the planting beds in that area might be larger after this season is over. :lol:


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Krs1 said:


> @Movingshrub what kind of bermuda do you have? What's the hoc?


That is TifTuf at about an inch.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that shade tolerant Bermuda is as shade tolerant as fescue.

The goal is the right plant in the right place, which can be a comprehensive decision based on sunlight, climate, fungal pressure, weed managment, etc.


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## JimH (Apr 20, 2020)

Thanks all for the feedback! Guess i'm back to TTTF. Any suggestions for Kentucky? I'm not a fan of fertilizers and weed controllers because I have a dog and kids that spend a great deal of time in that yard. Some kind of blend maybe???


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## 985arrowhead (Jul 15, 2018)

So I would like to jump into this conversation.

I posed the same question last year, I did what I thought was some extensive research and looking at a lot of the studies.As a lot of people have mentioned all of the studies were done and controlled environment and the shade generally reflected a canopy of some type That did allow some passive lighting through.

If you search my posts, I think I cite the Clemson study.

But let's review my personal experience. Documented in my lawn journal from 2019 you can review some of my concerns. My house faces north to south and my side yards are on the east and west sides of my home. Initially I was the only property with no home on either side of me. The 419 that was installed by the builder did extremely well. However, over the last five years homes have been erected on either side of me and this presented the extreme challenge of shade.

On the east side of my house using my security cameras as a benchmark starting at approximately 10 o'clock tool at a maximum 2 o'clock is when the side yard will get full sun. The neighbor on the east side of my house has already going to a rock garden.

On the west side of my house using my security cameras again as a benchmark starting at approximately 12 o'clock to approximately five or 6 o'clock in the evening so basically 1 to 2 hours more of direct sunlight.

So last fall late summer I sodded some celebration Bermuda On the east side of my house to assess how well it would do in the shade or basically four hours of "direct" sunlight a day.

These photos are looking from north to south and sequence walking from the front of my house to the backyard. I was required to hide my air conditioning unit which is the two shrubs which also throw some shade. As you can see walking back the grass becomes much thinner until almost becoming mud. In an effort to bring in more sunlight I removed some of the slats from my wooden gate and I am strongly considering moving it back another 6 to 8 feet taking down some of the privacy fence and placing the new aluminum gate right at the corner of my house. My wife was against that initially when we had the fence put up.









Now moving onto the west side of my house. This area was only recently sided with celebration Bermuda. Early to mid March. Of course it is fairly thick however due to the shade, the irrigation required for new side, I think I have developed a fungus. And the grass is already thinning.






So if you had to ask my personal opinion, I can't really say that the celebration Bermuda is dramatically more shade tolerant than the tiff 419 that was initially laid. It suffers tremendously in the shade.

We are discussing a pool at this time. I have a large paver patio in the back which would most likely go away with the pool. Of course with different decking for the pool I may try to salvage the pavers and do a paver walkway on either side yard and give up on the grass.

Hope my personal experience and pictures help!


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## lucas287 (Jun 3, 2018)

@985arrowhead great post! You backed it up with pics and data too!

I've currently got a mix going on in the backyard. Bluemuda is what it's called. Basically overseeding with KBG in the winter and letting it persist into the summer along with the bermuda. It's a controversial topic but I figured I would try it since the bermuda in my backyard has always struggled.

I'll update my little thread soon with some pics but basically I'm not too fond of the color difference between the KBG I used and my Tifsport. I honestly thought the KBG seed had failed it did so poorly for the first 2 months so I used a TTTF called Raptor III. That stuff is awesome! Very fine bladed like a PRG and dark too...it actually blends quite well with Celebration which I have under a tree in my backyard. I haven't watered a single time this entire year and it's still doing quite well!


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## 985arrowhead (Jul 15, 2018)

lucas287 said:



> @985arrowhead great post! You backed it up with pics and data too!
> 
> I've currently got a mix going on in the backyard. Bluemuda is what it's called. Basically overseeding with KBG in the winter and letting it persist into the summer along with the bermuda. It's a controversial topic but I figured I would try it since the bermuda in my backyard has always struggled.
> 
> I'll update my little thread soon with some pics but basically I'm not too fond of the color difference between the KBG I used and my Tifsport. I honestly thought the KBG seed had failed it did so poorly for the first 2 months so I used a TTTF called Raptor III. That stuff is awesome! Very fine bladed like a PRG and dark too...it actually blends quite well with Celebration which I have under a tree in my backyard. I haven't watered a single time this entire year and it's still doing quite well!


I have considered a shade mix but was afraid of the contrast but also the fact that in the summer we get over 90 daily and the humidity here is SOutheast Louisiana I never thought it would thrive.
Thoughts?


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## lucas287 (Jun 3, 2018)

The heat and humidity are definitely a concern! But an observation i made last summer gives me hope. Over the 2018 winter I overseeded PRG in my backyard, but I guess I tracked some seed into the front. Specifically on the north side of my house where it only gets maybe 2 hours of direct sunlight. What I noticed was that is not only did the PRG survive all summer but it thrived! Same in the backyard! I sprayed MSM and that killed off about 90% of it but I couldn't tell if I needed to reapply because I also did a major leveling too. Long story short, the sunniest part of my backyard looked great all summer until mid August but then it started browning for no reason looking heat stressed and dry. Then I realized that was actually the PRG dying off! There were some a few clumps next to the fence where it survived all summer and looked great too. That got me thinking that KBG might be better because it usually doesn't die but rather does dormant and then comes back in the fall as it cools. Any areas too sunny might actually die off, but hopefully just go dormant. And the shade spots hopefully persist all summer!


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## 6r33k633k (Apr 30, 2021)

TifGrand
Now fight me! 
&#128514; &#128514; &#128514;


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## Cousin_Wash (Mar 25, 2021)

6r33k633k said:


> TifGrand
> Now fight me!
> 😂 😂 😂


TifGrand all the way. I Have been renovating my yard over the last couple of years w/TifGrand and I am impressed with how well it does. I also put it in an area where it was constantly thin or even a dirt patch and now it is green and one of the best parts of the lawn.


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## TampaBayFL (Jul 24, 2020)

Ill echo all of the above concerns. My entire neighborhood was planted with Celebration in ~2017 and now 5 years later there is hardly any of it left. It declined almost immediately in the areas between houses (or otherwise shaded) and eventually yards were 90% dirt :-( I tried an Empire Zoysia experiment as my replacement for the Celebration in 2020, and it has now been removed as well.


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