| Most of Florida's grasses should receive at least six hours of sunlight each day, some of which may be partially filtered by trees. Grass won't grow in deep shade so if that's what you have you may want to plant a shade loving groundcover rather than turfgrass. With that said, St. Augustinegrass has the best tolerance for shade of any of the warm-season grass species and will also grow well in full sunlight. The most shade-tolerant cultivars are 'Seville', 'Delmar', 'Floraverde', and 'Captiva', all of which can sustain with 5-6 hours of sunlight. 'Floratam', which is the most widely used St. Augustinegrass cultivar, has relatively poor shade tolerance and requires six to eight hours of sunlight daily. Zoysiagrass cultivars such as 'Empire' have moderate shade tolerance, somewhat similar to Floratam St. Augustinegrass .Centipedegrass will tolerate moderate shade. Bahiagrass, seashore paspalum, and bermudagrass are sun-loving species that will not do well in shaded conditions. Hope this information helps you choose just the right turf for your yard. |
