Bermuda Problems

db1 – posted 23 May 2005 20:20

I just purchased a new home in the N. Atlanta area in November…after the sod was brown. I assumed it was dormant, but am wondering if it was dead? I moved from the Midwest and have always had Fescue and a nice lawn. I treated my lawn with a weed and feed in April and as of mid May most of the yard is still dead with a few patches of green. I had an irrigation system installed and threw some Fescue seed over the trenched areas…man… the Fescue is growing like a weed, but the Bermuda still isn’t? Any suggestions on what I did wrong or what I might be able to do to salvage the Bermuda?

Buck – posted 24 May 2005 06:15

Weed and feed is not really a good idea for turf coming out of dormancy and the product you used should have been labeled as such. Also, bermuda and fescue do not co-exist. The former is a warm season turf that needs to be mowed close, the latter a cool season turf that needs a lot of height. Don’t know why you threw out the seed.

Anyhow, if the sod was laid last fall or late summer it may never have sent roots down into your base, except in a few places now turning green. See if you can lift a piece of the sod off the base. If so, it is likely history this late in the season; roots should be extending by now.

Good time for you to decide on what you want and if bermuda, give up on the fescue, and unfortunately come back in with new bermuda sod or sprigs. Or wait until the green spots fill in to cover the area, and they will. But for now, enough of the weed and feed if you want bermuda.