dead bermuda sod

alan – posted 03 June 2003 17:59

Im a home builder in Arkansas and have a client that I believe has killed their sod. It was bermuda and was installed in late october, the homeowner used 13-13-13 about two days after it was installed.Then killed the weeds when they started to grow. then they used amonia nitrate. All this was done while the sod was dormant, this is june 3 and it never has greened up! They just got soil samples back and they show nothing wrong. We have used the same top soil and sod many times in the same subdivision and have never had any trouble. The Sod man does not have any answers and really doesn’t want to discuss it further. HELP!!!!! Could all these treatments before the grass and roots started to grow have totally killed the sod or could the sod farmer be at fault? I went to his farm the other day and it is green and healthy!

certified-in-florida – posted 03 June 2003 19:02

Hard to say. I would guess that the sod didn’t need the 13-13-13 coming from the sod farm, but if it was applied correctly (at the right rate), my GUESS is that it wouldn’t do much harm.

I would like to know more about the killing of the weeds. Was it a blanket application or spot treatments? If it was a blanket, and was applied within a few days of laying, I would guess that could have done some damage. What type of herbicide was used? You have to keep in mind that certain types of herbicide are for certain types of grass. If the wrong one was applied it could spell trouble.

The same with the nitrate. If applied too close to laying, it could also cause problems depending on how it was applied.

I’m afraid that in the end, your homeowner is going to try to blame you or the sod company anyway. Good luck on this one.

There are a lot of unanswered questions. Maybe Phil could give some insight. Look for a response from Seed or you might want to email the editor of the forum.

[This message has been edited by certified-in-florida (edited 03 June 2003).]