The grass looks sparse and ugly and this is the third lawn put in here.
I need an alternative to a front lawn. Lawn in Florida is a mess! Help
by
Kathy Hurry
+5
We have three large, messy Florida oak trees at the front of the yard that are required by the HOA. They are sucking the life out,of the THIRD lawn resod we have done. What can anyone suggest doing with the large areas between the planting beds where we are having a hard time with the grass? Ground cover? ????? The grass is being watered twice a week and treated for pests and is fertilized. ??????
See the bare spots? We have put fresh soil there and seeded. Still not much going on. ????
Hi Kathy,
Does your HOA require grass? If not, I've seen many people in hot climates, dig out their grass and fill the area with sand and/or mulch. If that's not possible, find a neighbor with great looking grass and talk to them about their method for keeping the grass looking good. Wishing you the best.
How about xeriscaping? Can be done in any area of the country with native plants. Contact your local Ag Extension for help with choosing plants that are compatible with the existing trees. Have them help you design an attractive yard that will pass the muster of your HOA.
Wow, that's a tough one! Try a ground cover specific to your area and the amount of light it will get. Have you had your soil tested for aklainity or acidic soil. Some times trees can change the PH of soil.
Lay decorative stones and add a few large flower pots w/tall flowers (if HOA will allow) then fill in w/ground cover in between the stones.
Good luck and hope this gives you some ideas.
you can remove all the grass and consider heat tolerant stepables which come in a large assortment.
https://www.stepables.com
I don't live in Florida so I'm not totally familiar with your growing zone - but it looks like the trees create a lot of shade - is it possible to thin the canopy? Also, if allowed by your HOA, I'd replace the lawn with a native ground cover. Here's a little reading http://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/plants/ornamentals/groundcovers.html I have also found that Universities like to share what they know and are pretty open to questions. Depending on how close you are to a University with a horticulture or landscape architecture program, they may even have a program where you can hire students/faculty to help create a solution for your problem areas.
We had two liveoaks in our yard in Florida too. Nothing would grow under them because the
leaves are too acidic for anything to grow (a landscaping design company told us). We put in a proposal to our HOA to cut down the trees in order to upgrade our landscaping. They actually approved it. We had the landscaping design firm
come out and lay sod and install plants. It is a real eye catcher now instead of an eyesore.
I would suggest overseeding just to be safe and google how these certain trees can affect my lawn. Also another factor is that your lawn may not be getting enough water. Check out our guide to tell https://liquigreenlawn.com/lawn-watering-needs/.