bermuda seeding over existing rye?

andyr – posted 29 June 2004 08:28

I live in Central TX and am wanting to seed some bermuda in areas where I seeded annual rye grass over the winter. The rye grass has not completely died off. There is no grass or other sod under the rye (only river soil that I brought in). I have heard that I need to either kill of the rye or wait for it to dye before I seed bermuda. I have had success in seeding bermuda and it is very cost efficient.

JamesnDallas – posted 30 June 2004 19:41

I moved into a new house this winter and tossed out some rye in December after deciding against sod. It came up better than I expected since I didn’t do anything but pick up the bigger debris in the back yard. In early April I dropped the mower really low so I could broadcast bermuda seed over the rye hoping to have the same luck. The rye lasted much longer than I thought it would but it helped me out because every time I mowed it put a layer of mulch on top of the bermuda seeds. I started to worry when the first of June came around but the bermuda is really starting to come up now.

I have been told that bermuda needs good soil contact, warm temps, and time for germination. The temp isn’t a problem but soil contact maybe….

Your right about seed though, I hate bermuda sod with a passion. The only thing it’s good for is hiding bricks and crap the contracters should have clean up!

tommy – posted 01 July 2004 12:44

If you have a rotary mower- you can put a thatching blade on it…..mow the rye to the ground….(remove the clippings)-seed the bermuda and lightly topdress. The rye cannot hold up to the scalping this time of year! There are also many improved varieties of Bermuda available in seed. Type- “Bermuda seed” into any search engine, and several web sites will appear selling a wide range of Bermuda’s.

andyr – posted 01 July 2004 13:34

Thanks for the replies! Two questions?1. Is it true thet the rye is too toxic to allow the bermuda to germinate?2. I’m looking for a tight bermuda that may do well in some shade as well as sun. Is there such an “animal”? Is Yukon one to be considered?

Thnaks again!

Andy

tommy – posted 01 July 2004 23:07

It is true that some grasses will not allow seeds of another variety to germinate……but i am not sure if rye is toxic to bermuda. If your in doubt, spray ’round up’ on the rye- a few days before you scalp. ‘Yukon’ is one of the tighter growing seeded types, but i am not sure of its shade tolerance. ‘Yuma’ is not quite as tight, but still attractive and has suprising shade tolerance (but not dense shade).