time to fert and sod/seed

MikeO – posted 22 March 2001 20:12

Still debating and never got a response.

Sod w/St. Augustine or seed with Burmuda ?

I currently have a nice green lawn with rye, but I noticed weeds are starting to grow. What should I do and when?

seed – posted 24 March 2001 07:21

Mike, neither bermudagrass nor St. Augustinegrass is ideal, but I am not aware of any backups that come as close to what you want for central Florida. You said in your original query that you want a lawn that would support a child, that has the looks and softness of a sports field, the looks of a well-maintained St. Augustinegrass, and survives without babysitting.

The biggest shortcomings for using bermudagrass are the need for full sun and the fact that it really requires regular cutting and other maitenance to keep it more-or-less free of weeds and looking good. The textbook answer is that you need to use a reel-type mower to keep bermudagrass cut to an ideal height of about an inch or less, but in fact it can be maintained with a rotary mower. Bermudagrass should be mown, in my opinion and personal experience, at least twice per week during the warm growing season, and should be fertilized accordingly. There will be occasionally times that you will have to use pesticides to deal with the most common hazards, lawn caterpillars and mole crickets; the sting nematode that commonly stresses the bermudagrass root system, you can’t do anything about anyway, other than outgrow the grass. The sting nematode is particularly a problem in sandy soils. The open habit of growth of bermudagrass leaves it more vulnerable to weed infestation that St. Augustinegrass, which tends to grow over the top of many weeds, and shades out many weeds.

St. Augustinegrass is generally more free of problems in your area, but it does not offer a good playing surface. Maybe the dwarf types of St. Augustine such as Palmetto, Seville, and Delmar and others might do it, but the standard Floratam is very hard to run in or play games in; the runners tend to trip small feet. In contrast, the dwarves such as Palmetto maintain a tighter, lower surface, but they are not as resilient as Floratam, and are more prone to problems from chinch bugs than Floratam. The other side of that is that Floratam isn’t much good in the shade.

So, if you have significant shade, forget bermudagrass and probably forget bermudagrass.

If you have full sun and you want to put in the extra time for a really good playing surface, go with bermudagrass. It won’t be easy.

The seeded bermudagrasses? I haven’t seen a seeded bermudagrass that can do better than vegetatively propagated Tifway 419, but I know you may want to put this out quickly and inexpensively. Bermudagrass is not inexpensive, and I wouldn’t crimp on good Tifway plant material, unless you can find a seeded bermudagrass that has a tight habit, relatively free of weeds. The seeded bermudagrasses tend to be more open, even more prone to weed invasion than Tifway.

Your other question was about prepping the ground. I go into more detail on this here:http://grove.ufl.edu/~turf/turfcult/97/estab.htm

Phil

MikeO – posted 25 March 2001 13:16

Thanks Phil

I really appreciate your answers.

Still deciding on the type of grass..

I have to go around and actually see a house with Burmuda and discuss the upkeep/care.

I have lived with St. Augustine when I was younger and mowed it weekly in the summer times so I know how to take care of that, I just have a lot of prep work to get it all ready..

maybe time to call in a landscape firm to prep and lay the sod..

Anyways.. thanks for your answers.

Mike

seed – posted 28 March 2001 13:22

You’re very welcome, Mike.

Phil