Brown only when I mowe

spike76001 – posted 03 July 2006 13:07

Hello just a question I mowe twice a week with a bag mower @ 3 inch high, fertilize with Lesco 24n. but everytime I mowe it has brown patches in some areas some other areas it looks great and once the grass grows back it looks great I live in TEXAS so its hot I water once every 4 days or so depending on how the grass needs water, any suggestions are welcome THANKS IN ADVANCE

TexanOne – posted 04 July 2006 03:23

It sounds to me that you may be maintaining (mowing) the Bermudagrass too high. When you cut Bermuda at 3”, the top, living surface parts are creating too much shade for the plant underneath and not allowing additional shoots that could grow to develop. So, what happens when you mow at 3” is that you are removing the relatively small green areas on top and then exposing the lower, brown parts of the plant to sunlight – which then allows the lower parts to grow at least temporarily until the top parts of the plant again grow to shade the lower parts of the plant. It’s a vicious cycle created by the 3” mowing height.

You are producing the same mechanical reasons St Augustine grass will naturally dominate Bermudagrass in the Metroplex (and in most of Texas for that matter). St Augustine runners have the ability to climb over the top of Bermudagrass and shade the Bermuda out of existence.

I have experimented with probably every turfgrass that will grow in Texas during the past 30 years. One of the best looking full-sun lawns I ever had was a beautiful Common Bermudagrass lawn at another home many years ago that I mowed at 1” to 1.5” and watered @ 1” water 1x/week in summer. I fertilized the grass with 21-0-0 @ 1 lb N/1000 ft2 every 60 days. It was the best looking lawn in the neighborhood.

One positive aspect of the high cutting height is that you are probably creating a more drought resistant turf, but at the expense of overall appearance.

At this point as I see it, you have two options:

1: Cut the Bermudagrass at 1” to 1.5” and it will look scalped, brown, and dead for about 2 weeks until the lower parts of the plant green up or…

2: Maintain your cutting height for the rest of the growing season and start with the lower cutting height next spring.

If you do cut it down to 1” to 1.5”, keep it watered well in our hot Texas weather until it greens up good or you run the risk of loosing all of it!

spike76001 – posted 05 July 2006 18:12

Thanks for your reply I’ve been doing that as an experiment in my backyard been mowing every other day at 1.5 and its looking GOOD exept today been raining.is that Good or is everyother day better? what do you recommend? Once again THANKS FOR YOUR TIME

TexanOne – posted 06 July 2006 01:25

If you have the time to cut it every other day, sure – that is a very good practice. I’m lucky if I have time to cut mine 1x/week. The best lawns I have ever seen were cut daily, but that was in places like theme parks and golf courses with full-time folks that do that sort of thing.

Keep us informed how the new cutting height is working out…

joeearney – posted 30 July 2006 12:46

TexasOne gives very good advice. I have Tiff and cut every second day. Just had to comment on such expert advice.

for what it’s worth,

Joe EarneyBedford, TX

kgamble – posted 07 August 2006 22:41

I noticed your discussion and have a question for one of the experts. I am having the same problem and also cut my Bermuda grass about 3″ high. The question that I have is this… Is it too late this year (August) to cut the grass so short? I did not know about cutting short in the spring until it way after spring. I live in Alabama and it has also been very hot. I would appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

TexanOne – posted 08 August 2006 00:46

Kgamble, I think you’ll be ok to go ahead and cut it short but just be ready for a dead-looking lawn for a week or two until the lower growth greens up. If you want to play it safe, go ahead and maintain your cutting height until early spring next year, then scalp it low and keep it low – about 1” to 1.5”. However, Bermudagrass is tough and I don’t think you’ll cause any long-term damage by cutting it short in hot weather – just keep it watered while it’s recovering.

kgamble – posted 09 August 2006 09:20

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate the help.

joeearney – posted 10 August 2006 13:10

Aerate your lawn or at least the brown areas. You can purchase hand aerators from amazon.com. They are made by lewistools.com, you can see them there. They have a spike and plug version, I recommend both. They go for about $30 each. Then water, water, water and then water a bit more.

jo*******@ho*****.com