Bermuda Grass for the Birmingham area

BobfromBham – posted 04 May 2002 15:46

Last fall I cleared an area of about 1500 sq ft on the side of my house and seeded it with annual rye to prevent wash during the winter. I am looking at seeding with Bermuda. In my research thus far, I have concluded that the issues are more complicated than I figured. My plan is to let the rye die out about June first and over-seed with the Bermuda. I have been advised to score with a rake or aerate with a commercial machine to give the seed a chance to germinate. I have also been advised to fertilize weekly and water regularly. Now to the type of seed. In my research, it looks like for my small area that the new Princess 77 at about $114 for five pounds might be the way to go. Do any of you have any experience with Bermuda seed in this general geographic area? I tried to triangulate the research from other sites in South Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi to see if there had been any experience with Princess or other seeds, such as Blackjack and Jackpot, etc.I had thought about over- seeding the existing lawn where there is need for grass. My lawn has a combination of Zoysia and Bermuda. Any thoughts anyone? Thanks for your consideration and replies.

seed – posted 06 May 2002 09:20

BobfromBham, your approach is very good, and you will probably come close to the right solution by investigating further. Not being from your area, I cannot give you specific advice. However, I will suggest some additional points for your consideration:

1. What are your neighbors growing in the community? They might not be expected to have Princess 77 bermudagrass, because of its relative newness, but are bermudagrasses generally the favorite where you live?

2. If you are planting along the side of the house, is there enough sunlight to support bermudagrass? (Again, see what your neighbors have in similar situations.)

3. Ryegrass will probably be ready to die earlier, and in its weakened condition may also give some slight shelter to the bermudagrass, so you might consider starting sooner. Again, I don’t know your climate. But the more months of good growing weather, the better, also its better to try to get a jump on the weeds.

4. With seed worth its weight in silver, practically, a very clean seedbed is going to be critical. Sometimes you can accomplish that with relatively little disturbance, e.g., mechanical raking. Sometimes more disturbance is needed to bust up the surface. Ultimately, you need a fairly level surface, not more than about 1/2 inch vertical undulations.

5. Is the existing lawn with “a combination of Zoysia and Bermuda” different from the cleared area of about 1500 sq ft? In any case, it is difficult to ensure a good seedling stand in an existing lawn, therefore more work to spray out and chop up and remove the existing grass would be very beneficial.

6. Regarding fertilizing a seeded lawn, the benefits of such frequent fertilization and possibly heavy fertilization apply to the time after the seedlings have begun to run horizontally. Before that, there will be little advantage in heavy fertilization, in fact, this may stimulate the growth of weeds.

Phil

BobfromBham – posted 06 May 2002 21:10

Thank you, Phil. No, the side 1500 sq ft is not the same as the rest of the yard. The cleared area is just in annual rye, which is dying out. You may be right. June 1st may be too late. We are in the transition zones 8 and 9, and St Augustine and Centipede is not recommended here. The two real choices are Zoysia and Bermuda. Zoysia would be my choice if costs were not a factor. Since seed does not do well for Zoysia, sodding is the only realistic answer—a very expensive one, thus, Bermuda as my choice, especially since it is very good in mostly sun. The real problem is which Bermuda seed to use. I am your typical cheapscape. I do not want to spend more than I have to to get the results I want. I don’t suppose that is a bad thing, but, I want to get results, consistent results, predictable results. If that does not work, then, I guess we are all on a crap shoot. That is not very conforting to me! I don’t live like that, and don’t like crap shoots. That is for casinos.

I would like a good chance at getting the results I would like to get.

Thank you.