seeding existing bermuda with diff. blend

pawle – posted 18 August 2003 20:02

I have a 9 month old sodded bermuda (dont know the type, just “standard” I guess). I would like to get it thicker laterally, and am wondering if overseeding next spring with a different blend of bermuda (that grows more like teebox grass) would help. This year I started with the basics…infrequent deep watering, mowing low, aeration, etc. Any thoughts? Any more info you need before giving an opinion?

redbird – posted 19 August 2003 06:44

The key to thick bermuda (assuming you have full sun, bermuda will not tolerate shade) is MOWING – adequate water is important, fertilizing is good, but if you want to develop a luxuriant, thick carpet, there is no substitute for one season of frequent mowing.

If you mow bermuda twice a week ( I know, it’s a lot of work) you will force lateral growth. Additionally, most of the weeds which grow vertically cannot tolerate this mowing schedule.

I bought a house in Texas many yaers ago with a spotty lawn of common bermuda (the type that propagates via seed). An old salt gave me the advice that I just shared with you. I watered, mowed twice a week, never even fertilized (didn’t know any better) and by the following spring, I had the best looking lawn in the neighborhood. One caveat – do not scalp the lawn. No grass, not even bermuda, can recover from being scalped twice a week.

Mike

redbird – posted 19 August 2003 06:45

The key to thick bermuda (assuming you have full sun, bermuda will not tolerate shade) is MOWING – adequate water is important, fertilizing is good, but if you want to develop a luxuriant, thick carpet, there is no substitute for one season of frequent mowing.

If you mow bermuda twice a week ( I know, it’s a lot of work) you will force lateral growth. Additionally, most of the weeds which grow vertically cannot tolerate this mowing schedule.

I bought a house in Texas many yaers ago with a spotty lawn of common bermuda (the type that propagates via seed). An old salt gave me the advice that I just shared with you. I watered, mowed twice a week, never even fertilized (didn’t know any better) and by the following spring, I had the best looking lawn in the neighborhood. One caveat – do not scalp the lawn. No grass, not even bermuda, can recover from being scalped twice a week.

Mike

Lawn Weasel – posted 05 September 2003 12:19

I have the “bermuda grass is too tall” problem… Bought a new house w/ sodded bermuda, didn’t have a mower the first few weeks, grass got tall. Now it’s mowed regularly but is about 3″ tall. I love the carpet-like feel of bermuda, and don’t want to hurt it by scalping… I already take off all the green each time I mow (weekly, sometimes every 5-6 days when I can), so it’s brown for 3-4 days until the green tips appear, but it’s back to square one by then. Can I scalp it even more than I’m doing? There are parts of the yard (I think they get more sun) that don’t “green up” even after a week, and the front doesn’t grow much overall anyway. I have a loam (sandy?) soil, and have not used any fertilizers yet.