“Greening” up Bermuda grass?

t_heasley – posted 21 June 2005 16:17

I have been following all posted advice regarding Bermuda grass care and my lawn has filled in quite well. I was wondering is there a proven way to enhance the color of the lawn? I fertilized earlier in the late spring with a nitrogen rich mixture, and I have been keeping the grass quite short, Approx. 1-1,1/2 inch in length. The grass seems to turn a bit brown during the day, am I not watering enough? Any advice would be appreciated. And yes, I had the blade sharpened.

tommy – posted 23 June 2005 09:22

Try some Iron (such as ‘Ironite’) , and also raise your cutting height slightly. As the days shorten in late summer, slowly start reducing your cutting height……and by fall reduce it down even further. This mowing practice matches mowing height with total day light hours…..basically allowing the grass plant extra room to grow during the long days of summer. As the sun gets lower in the sky, the lower cutting height helps more light and warmth to reach the soil- thus extending the growing season for bermuda. Lower mowing in cooler months, also helps reduce thatch build up.

smrtn240 – posted 30 July 2005 16:35

Fe Fe Fe

jrjazzman – posted 12 August 2005 17:23

The proven way to green up a lawn is to give it what it needs. That is to say, soil health, water, light, etc. I’d not suggest adding Iron unless you know it needs iron. If it doesn’t, you could do harm. Iron and other nutrients such as Manganese become unavailable to must plants in alkaline soil, ie pH 7.5 or above. If this is the case, you can try acidifying the soil with something like elemental sulfur, ferrous sulfite, etc. If your soils are highly calcareous or have free lime, this will probably be a waste of time. In this case, a chelated iron could be beneficial since it tends to have decent bioavailability in alkaline soil.

QWERTY – posted 17 August 2005 08:38

Organic yard care. ‘Nuff said. Chemical junks are WAAAAAAAAAY overrated. They do nothing but destroy environment, ecosystems and so on…