“stemmy bermuda”

okgrassguy – posted 13 May 2006 20:32

Last year my yard always had a white stemmy appearance after mowing. I learned it was a combination of mowing too tall and too infrequently. This year I began mowing with a reel mower at about .50 inches. Im still getting areas that have white stems. The areas that I resodded last year dont get this. I havent been able to mow as often as needed due to alot of rain. We needed the rain so i wont complain. Is it due to mot mowing enough or could those areas be common bermuda and it dosent loke being mowed that low ?

tommy – posted 13 May 2006 21:39

1/2 inch is kind of short for some bermuda’s-especially with infrequent mowing. Golf course bermuda fairways are kept leafy by being cut 3 to 4 times a week at .50 If your goal is to mow once a week, your cutting height will have to be raised. Its not un common to see homeowners with a nice bermuda lawn at 1 1/2 -and then de-thatched once or twice a year to re-new the turf and promote new leafy growth. People who tell you your bermuda has to kept short, almost never include the info that- short mow heights also mean the turf has be mowed more often. There are not many homeowners who want to mow 2 or 3 times a week! I know my ass doesn’t want to! haha

okgrassguy – posted 13 May 2006 21:50

I can mow 2 times a week. I only have about 3k total. I realized that 1/2 inch may be too short. I tryed it at .75 and it looked good. Last year I was keeping it at 2 inches and it just got too leggy and scalped too easy.

okgrassguy – posted 14 May 2006 22:37

Today I got on my hands like a nutcase too examine these white stems a little closer and noticed they are seed heads. Ive had the grass form seedheads before but these are pure white and stand out like crazy. Any ideas on how to deal with it. I had heard that bermuda forming seedheads can be due to low nitrogen. I just applied Milorganite yesterday.

tommy – posted 14 May 2006 23:50

Ya, .75 at twice a week would be perfect for now, and then raise the height to 1 inch in a month or so. Seed heads can be reduced by good maint. practices,( proper fertilizing, watering and mowing), but some types of bermuda get massive seed heads no matter what you do! This is why many people still prefer hybrid bermuda over improved seeded types.