Bermuda Grass Care
About Bermuda Grass
Bermuda grass is a wonderful selection for anyone who lives in a southern climate and desires a turf grass that can withstand the harsh sun and survive with minimal amounts of water. Bermuda grass care is simple: it is sun-loving – it does not do well in shady areas - as well as being naturally heat and drought resistant and is therefore a great type of grass for those living in hot, humid or somewhat arid climates. It is a low growing wiry grass that provides good ground cover and withstands constant use from being walked upon or being treated harshly by pets.
Bermuda grass spreads naturally by producing seeds and it can spread through above ground shoots called stolons or below ground shoots referred to as rhizomes. This ability to spread is both a blessing and a curse for some. While the aggressive growth of Bermuda grass insures a wide ground covering, the below ground rhizomes can also infiltrate flower or garden beds and be the source of frustration for many.
Bermuda grass is a perennial grass and therefore reseeding is not often necessary. It has a rich green tone with a medium to fine texture and is well suited for lawns. It is often the grass that grows on the putting surfaces or fairways of golf courses throughout the south. It should be noted that the particular variety of Bermuda grass used for putting surfaces is a hybrid which was developed for that particular purpose and is only available as sod. The normal variety of Bermuda grass grown in the southern regions of the United States is available in over a dozen varieties and can be selected based on the particular circumstance of each purpose. For instance, a prospective grower can select a variety based on wear tolerance, color, suitability for a slightly cooler climate in the more northern reaches of the south or mowing the height desired.
During cooler months Bermuda grass turns brown and while the root system is still alive, the blades of the grass appear dead. For some, this is a major disadvantage of this grass. Nevertheless, the moment spring and summer begin to arrive the grass will return to green and grace the owner with a lush carpet to enjoy.
Minimal maintenance, aggressive growth, sun, heat and drought tolerance are the strengths of Bermuda grass. The weaknesses are the inability to grow well in the shade and the brown color that descends upon it in the winter months.
Taking Care of Bermuda Grass
If you’re a home owner looking to improve you lawn, here are some bermuda grass care articles that will certainly help you out in caring for bermuda grass.
Is My Bermuda Grass Healthy?
Mowing Bermuda Grass
Bermuda Dollar Spot
Watering Bermuda Grass
Aerating Bermuda Grass
Hopefully the bermuda grass section of the Lawn Care Guide have helped you understand how to produce a greener and thicker lawn. If you see something we’ve missed please leave a comment or question below. Also check out the lawn care and lawn maintenance sections of our site.
[...] I gave this mower a run for its money as I’m in the deep south mowing some of the thickest bermuda grass. Running a lawn care website, my yard is expected to be the thickest greenest grass around. I was a [...]
How do you get poanna grass out of a bermuda lawn?
The short answer is pull them out. There aren’t any weed killers to take care of Poanna so you’re stuck waiting until the heat takes care of them or pull them out. I’m going to be writing an article on this very subject soon, so stay tuned.
It seems like the heavy rain this year in Atlanta has caused the weeds in my bermuda yard and my subdivision to come out in full force. My yard was treated with a pre-emergent in January and Scotts Plus 2 weed/feed in late April. I have also spot treated with weed b gone. These weeds are kicking my butt. I also used a dethatcher in mid May. Please Help?
I know you’re thankful for the rain, but maybe not the weeds. If the weed-b-gone didn’t take care of the weeds its probably because they are not weeds. It’s likely a different type of grass, like annual rye grass (poanna), that has infested your lawn. If that is the case it will die off in the summer heat which is right around the corner.
What do you recommend for bare spots in a bermuda lawn? I only have two. The aren’t ‘dollar spots’. I tried to plant bermuda seed in these spots by scratching the surface of the dirt and planting the seed but I used regular topsoil to cover the seed ( about 1/2 inch) and it never came up. I did keep it watered for 2 1/2 weeks. I think the topsoil was to heavy. Your thouhgts. Oh and what is the proper use for sand in planting Bermuda? I have search on the Internet but have been unable to find much info.Thanks so much Nate!
If you planted bermuda seed this early in the season it probably won’t have germinated yet. It needs consistent temps to germinate. Instead of using top soil a nice layer of sand to hold the seed in place will work great. Bermuda loves sand and you can also probably add a bag of play sand to each bare spot to help the bermuda easily spread to the barespots.
You all may like the Bermuda Grass but I despise it. We live in an area with lots of rain so we don’t need this pest. I’ve tried tilling it up, digging it up, using round up, even hired a lawn care service and he said “we dont have anything to kill that stuff.” It gets into my flowerbeds and I’ve never hated anything so much in my life. If you want some of it come and get it.
What do I need to do for lawn maintenance with Bermuda grass? It also has alot of weeds in it…we live near Atlanta GA
I fertilized my bermuda a couple of weeks ago using the Scott’s brand with a spreader. It seems as if some of the grass is green while other spots look sort of brownish/yellowish. i don’t believe I used to much fertilizer. I also put down some lyme. What’s with the sections of grass that aren’t as green as the others?
Are the brown spots in stripes or patches? If there are stripes its likely the fertilizer. If its patches its likely a lack of water. Hope this helps.
My Bermuda lawn have a lot of holes in it ,cani put sand in it to leaved it?
My Bermuda lawn is not leaved can i put sand to do so?
i have a bernuda lawn, should i bag my clippings each time i mow?
i just spread out the bermuda seed and i was wondering how much i sould water it a week.
I have 3 year old bermuda- what kinda fertilizer is best and what will stop nut grass with out hurting grass?? It seems to like not being mowed too low
How do I get rid of crabgrass?
This past April I seeded a piece of property with Scotts Bermuda, about half has taken. For the most part the stems are spreading along the ground but it has more of a tendency to grow tall, I’ve read that it should be kept mowed at about an inch, fertilized every 45 days or so and lay down lime, all of which I have been doing. It doesn’t seem to be coming in as well as I expected and have been recently told to allow it to grow up to 3″ and mow to 2″, the extra height will help promote photosynthesis which in turn will promote further growth and a good base to work with next year.
I understand that keeping it mowed at 1″ or so will promote a nice thick lawn but does the keeping it tall the first year scenario make sense or is it a matter of keeping it low and being patient.
I do have a very lush fescue lawn at my home in Charlotte, NC so I do have alot of experience with the care of lawns, I have never worked with the Bermuda ( except killing the wild variety in my fescue lawn )
I live in the Texas Panhandle and my front lawn is african bermuda and has been in this lawn for over 25 years. About 4 years ago there was a round spot about 3 feet in width that appeared. This area just started turning brown. I assumed it was grubs and treated as such. The next year it continued to spread in a circular pattern by about 1 foot. The following year began doing the same spreading out further by about 2 feet. That year took pictures and took it to a lawn and garden center and was asked by them about the type and age. Their comment was that due to its age it was choking itself out and that about the best thing to do was to till it up.
My question is would a good aeration (core type) do the job or does it appear that there is another problem.
HOW DO I GET RID OF ALL THIS CRAB GRASS OTHER THAN DIGGING IT UP. I DON’T WANT TO SPRAY SOMETHING THAT WILL TURN MY BERMUDA YELLOW . ALSO WHAT KIND OF FERTILIZER AND WHEN IS BEST FOR THIS LAWN. IT WAS JUST SODDED IN MAY 2009
I live in Alabama. We built a new home 2003 and Bermuda sod was placed on the lot. The sod was horrible and we had weeds. Lots of them.
We used Tru-Green for a few years and they were never able to get rid of the weeds. Poa Anna was prevalent. I finally decided to take over the lawn care myself since paying Tru-Green over $700 a year was not working.
I bought a spreader aerator from Sears to attach to the back of my lawn tractor. It punches holes in the ground while you are spreading seed, fertilizer…whatever. I decided to use Scotts products. In two days the lawn greened up really well and I was able to handle a 1/2 acre lot with one bag I purchased from Sam’s Club for $60.
Scotts works great and for the money I am saving it is worth it. My lawn looks better than ever and the grass is the greenest on my street with thick grass that feel like carpet.
In the south we have hard, red clay soil, so breaking it up as much as possible is a good thing. The aerator really does a good job. I also used it to put down Bermuda seed to overseed and it went good as well. The aerator drops the seed in while punching holes in the soil…two for the price of one and I did not have to do anything but drive the mower around while it did it’s thing.
Then water well. I usually water once a week if there has been no rain, other than that my grass looks great!
Not sure what grass i have but during the summer my grass is thin light green and brown in some spot and doesnt grow at all. Very so often i get to pull out the the lawn mower to mow it. Also under our tree its even worse. What should i do. During the winter season it all grows out even under the tree. It becomes thick and dark green very beautiful.
hi
I have lawn with bermuda grass it is brownish green can u suggest what I should do in fall should i put fertilizer or seeds and can usuggest what type of fertilizer to use and waht should do later on
have anice day
thanks
jagdeep
Nez,
Sounds like you may have Fescue since it is a cool season grass if it is turning dark green during the winter. It will not do well during the warm months. You should try Scott’s lawn products cause they work really well.
You would have to over seed it next spring with Bermuda seed to have a summer lawn then it will go dormant in fall and the Fescue will run it’s course.
Jag
Get the Scott’s Winterizer (available now). There are dierctions on the back that tells you when to use their products for a great lawn. You also may need to overseed next spring and aerate as well. Use something now to prevent some weeds from seeding and appearing next spring.
I recently planted about 5000 sq. ft. of Bermuda sod . The lawn was doing fine for about 3 weeks until the heavy rains came . Now about one third of it has turned brown.. Any suggestions?
I have a Bermuda lawn in upstate SC…. lots of Mushrooms have just popped up in the last month. I have several trees and we have had a lot of rain so I’m sure that’s condusive to mushroom growth. Should I try to pull them up, kill them with something??? or just leave them alone?
Thanks.
I am doing an experiment in class with Bermuda grass growth with fertilizer! Help!!!!