# Need Grass Advice.



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

My son is cutting a road on a fairly steep hillside traversing down the side at a gentle slope. The road is in mature timber so it will be pretty shaded. We need to get a good stand of grass on the cut, but I am uncertain what to use in the shade. The only thing I can think of is Creeping Red Fescue. I do not know if the roots are good for holding dirt like other grasses can be. Does anyone have a recommendation for this type of requirements? We will rock the road but need something to hold the upper and lower cuts and plows.

Regards, Mike


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Mike-Can you get crown vetch on it? Sometimes it seems to take forever to establish but if you could it would hold.


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

I would think rye would at least give you some roots in the dirt, we all know nothing grows very good in lots of shade don't we... We are under really big trees and we don't have grass in our so called yard....


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

I think I will add some crown vetch like Hayman(Ric) suggested....I had not thought about that. We are also going to try a 4-5 bags of this mix from Scotts.

We will also add a little wheat to get things going quick.

Regards, Mike

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rebel-Southern-Classic-15-lb-Dense-Shade-Grass-Seed/50140318


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## HayMike (Mar 22, 2011)

Crown vetch is like gold these days. My seed supplier is recommending trefoil instead. It works well, and is much less expensive.

Mike


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

HayMike said:


> Crown vetch is like gold these days. My seed supplier is recommending trefoil instead. It works well, and is much less expensive.
> 
> Mike


Will it grow in the shade?

Regards, Mike


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

We used it everywhere at the landfill I ran. Can't remember using it in full shade but I know the more we pampered it the slower it established. Meaning, if we clipped the nurse crop, it never established. If we seeded (as I recall, using rye as cover) and just walked away, several years later it was thick. After it was well established, we would bush hog the slopes that we could get on once a year after frost at about 8 inches stubble to control fire potential.

Just checked the internet, it prefers full sun, will tolerate spotty shade so maybe not the best option. I would still try some in a test area and see what happens.


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## reede (May 17, 2010)

Mike,

Sericea does well in soil that has had all the good stuff removed. See it a lot on road banks, mine reclamation, etc. It does do well in the shade. I've got edges of my hayfield that I leave for wildlife habitat, that are in shade half the day, and it is thick and tall. It is a warm season legume, so establishment is in the spring, and after hard freeze, the leaves come off, and you'd swear you had fallow ground until spring. But through the warm part of the year it would probably do nicely in this situation.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Good stuff reede, I had not given sericea a thought. I will get some for this spring. Many thanks.

Regards, Mike


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