That is a nice old tree. I recommend a wide area of mulch under a large live oak. Otherwise it is competing with grass or other plants for nutrients and water.

Check out this site:

Personally I wouldn't plant under an oak. I know it's done often but I wonder why most of the really old ones seem to be out there on their own with nothing growing under them.

Instead of planting under it, why don't you put a table and swing or portable hamock under it. Maybe a small movable deck and some pots with shade plants. It's a great shady spot to sit and read or grab a nap. I'd be napping out there after a weed pulling session.

Here is a link that might be useful: Info on oaks

We've actually got a hammock under it now. Thought about putting down flagstone, but that would likely cost a bit too much.

What else would be a good barrier for weeds and such, as well as not being too maintenance heavy when the tree drops leaves?

Have you thought about Horse Herb (Calyptocarpus vialis)? It is native to our area and fills in nicely. It can be mowed just like grass. The nice thing about it is that it stays bright green even with little watering. Go to:

http://www.wildflower.org/gallery/result.php?id_image=21712

to see a photo.

You can purchase it at any of the native plant nuseries -- Weston Gardens would probably be your best bet.

Everything I've read about horse herb makes me think it'd be too invasive.

Perhaps the deck is the best solution.

A round deck with a round bench going around the tree would look nice.

Then you could plant ferns, cast iron, caladiums, texas columbine around the border. You could also do hosta's in pots.

St. Augustine does not like live oak leafs so you'd have to rake it in the spring, with the plants the leafs would be a great mulch.

a) Have you left the area alone to determine what kind of weed battle you'll have? If you just recently removed the mulch, you might want to watch it for a while - might find out you don't need a weedblock.

b) We've left our live oak mostly bare underneath - a few Liriope, a very small azalea and mulch.

c) I know you said you've have decided against horseherb, but I found it at Strong's on I-35E between Sandy Lake and Beltline in Carrollton.

~ Amy

having lived on a lot with 9 huge live oaks, i can tell you the only things i would plant would be mulch, a brick patio or a deck

i spent a fortune and suffered defeat trying to convince myself otherwise!

sigh they were/are beautiful!!

That must be why the former owners of our house built a playhouse with an attached timber swing set under the old oak tree. I like it for my daughter but, of course, st. augustine doesn't grow there. There is a tiny weed groundcover which makes the area look green but it's not thick so playing under the oak is a muddy affair. I was hoping to create a crushed granite path from the patio edged in mondo or some other liriope and maybe layer some moonlight caladium and azalea beyond that but i'm researching now to see what's really practical to avoid wasting money on mistakes. Love oaks/hate oaks. They're root systems are shallow, soak up to 50 gals of water daily so st. augustine can't compete but other shrubs and ground covers can. That's what I've got so far to work with.

Don't forget that you can mulch the area with a material of your choice and then use various pots of colored annuals or whatever to brighten up the area. Planting under oaks is a trial in itself unless you use hardy shade type groundcovers of which there are a few. Even then, you'll probably have to use a leaf blower to clean up after the leaves start falling.
If you choose to go with mulches, I prefer the natural types such as wood chips or unfinished compost rather than gravel, rocks, etc., that tend to migrate all over the surrounding area no matter how careful you are.

Not many options, if you need something suitable for kids to romp on. Otherwise, you can easily create a very attractive area. I use a ground cover form of ruellia commonly known as Blue Shade. It forms a thick, dark green mat, and blooms after rainfall. It can get over a foot tall, but is easily controlled with a weedeater. It's usually evergreen in 8b. Mine froze back this year, but is quickly returning. I water it perhaps once a year. It conceals narrow live oak leaves nicely. Then there's mondo, purple heart, ardesia, aspidistra, ivy, holly fern, etc.

You might give 'Palmetto' St. Augustine a try if you'd prefer grass. It is probably the most shade tolerant SA cold hardy enough for Dallas. I've found it will often fill in surprisingly well where the 'Raleigh' has thinned out under the increasing shade of developing trees.

Asian jasmine will do very nicely, if you're willing to do groundcover, rather than lawn. Nice and thick deep green. I have it covering much of my backyard under live oak and cedar elm, with caliche not far below. Drought tolerant and low/zero maintenance. Not very tolerant of footsteps or kids, but it makes it easy to make paths. Where you walk will turn into a path. It'll cover the whole area in a few years. That being the case, it's kind of invasive, but you can just mow the edges to keep it well behaved.

Live Oak dropping leaves? It shouldn't drop very many of them. St. Augustine won't do that well there, BTW.

I grow lots of plants under live oaks. wood sorel combined with wandering Jew. One grows and blooms when the other is below ground. One is a winter grower and one is a summer grower. I grow salvia lyrata, Salvia romeriiana, phlox pilosa, Ajuga repens, columbine (with drainage) greek pattern plant, salvia coccinea, turks cap penstemon tennis. I guess I never heard that thing not to plant under trees. I always had mulch in foot traffic areas. I do not like to water grass. I was on a hill facing East so we did have morning sun under the deep shade and some very late afternoon sun on the other side.

Oak trees in the wild have all sorts of things growing under them from agarita , evergreen sumac,

Hi. Some great ideas for planting plants, shrubs and trees under a live oak include:

Azaleas ( try to collect a variety of colors such as ones sold at the online arbor day shop)

Citrus trees ( I have three that grew like a shrub when pruned)

Viburnum Suspensum ( or any 6'or higher variety for your area) You may want to "ring" your live oak for a natural "forest" kind of look with these wildlife friendly shrubs.

Serviceberry shrubs (let it grow wild for a natural look)

You may also plant Bald Cypress near by

All of these benefit from Acid lovers food for plants such as Micacle Grow for acid lovers.

There is a strain of St. Augustine that would do very well under that oak. I have some under an Oak tree that is much larger than the one in your picture, and has a thicker canopy and the grass does excellent. The name of it starts with an "F" and is something like 'Floratam' or 'Floratine' maybe? Also look into Palmetto St. Augustine. which can do very well in little sunlight.

The most shade tolerant varieties of St. Augustine are Bitterblue,
Deltashade, Captiva, Delmar and Seville. Floratine, Classic, Jade and
Raleigh varieties also do well in the shade. Similar sounding Floratam and Floralawn are NOT as shade tolerant. All St. Augustine varieties are more shade tolerant than other lawn grasses.

Tree leaves are meant to be the mulch that prevents other plants from growing. The leaves break down to feed microbes which make soil nutrients more available to the tree. The problem with live oak leaves is that they are leathery and take much longer to break down, and they smother any emerging plants when they drop in the spring. I have had good results with Holly Fern (Cyrtomium falcatum) under my mature oak. I do have to water these twice a month in the summer in Central Texas.

The St. Augustine that I have here has purple stems at certain times of the year and it was given to me under a name that started with an "F" which I believe is "Floratam" which is VERY shade tolerant especially compared to regular St. Augustine, so I am not sure of the actual name, but on the TAMU website, Palmetto is listed as the most shade tolerant. Check out Palmetto for your yard.