Bermuda

SERT56 – posted 31 March 2004 21:33

Thanks to the previous homeowner my backyard is 35% St. Augustine grass and 65% misc. grass and weeds. I am unsure of the type of grass I have but it grows in small tufts with long, thin blades. Due to the lack of shade in my yard and the hot climate in San Antonio I am would like to change the whole yard to bermuda grass(sahara). Any tips on how to prep the yard? There are some good size bare spots in the yard as well. Will seeding the bare spots with bermuda seed enable the bermuda to eventually help take over the other grass & weeds? I am a novice when it comes to lawn care.

redbird – posted 01 April 2004 06:50

Unless you completely kill off the St. Augustine (round -up professional strength, wait 10 days, spray everything still green, wait 7-10 days, prepare the seedbed and THEN seed) you run the risk of ending up with both grasses in your lawn – with the St. Augustine shooting up higher than the bermuda, looking all weedy & uneven. If you meticulously maintain the bermuda at a low cutting height (lots of mowing) and feed/water it well, it will out compete the St. Augustine. If your maintenance regimen is lax, the St. Augustine will grow taller than the bermuda, shading it and competing effectively with it (again – a mixture of grasses.

PS – Bermuda is pretty if you work it – make sure that is what you are into. St. Augustine is less work, tolerates shade – but not a soft cushiony carpet like bermuda – all trade-offs.

Mike

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 04 April 2004 12:41

If you mow it high, the St Augustine will kill out the bermuda completely. If you mow it low, the bermuda will be in its prime but I don’t think it will ever choke out the St Aug – at least not in a decent time frame.

There are tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of St Augustine lawns in San Antonio. It normally works pretty well when watered, mowed, and fed properly. The biggest drawback to bermuda here is that it turns brown earlest and stays brown the longest. St Augustine down here doesn’t always turn brown and sometimes (rarely) grows enough to mow every week, all winter long.

Also bermuda doesn’t do as well on the north sides of buildings or anywhere within shadow of a tree on the horizon. When they say that bermuda is a “full sun” grass, they ain’t kidding. It needs 6-8 hours a day of full sun.

SERT56 – posted 07 April 2004 02:35

Thanks for the advice. I guess the thought of that good looking bermuda grass clouded my judgement. Looks like I will be headed to the nursery to pick up a pallet of St. Augustine’s grass.