"Heidi the Horrible" wrote:
How many sg ft are you talking about in the shade area's, Heidi?

About 1000 to 1500 I would guess.

HtH

That's about the same size shade area I battle with here in Ohio. I
brought in decent topsoil, added some organics and seed it twice
a year with a rye/fine fescue blend. I use 10-18-10 fertilizer there
and -never- put pre-emergent down.

You mentioned you have a free water source, I water my shade area
at least 1 to 2 inches per week.

It's a never ending battle, and pruning your tree as you suggested
would help.

If all else fails, consider replacing the turf with shade tolerant
ground covers.

--
Here's my favorite liberal.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0424216/