Bermuda lacking green

6542 Views 45 Replies 18 Participants Last post by Turftoe, Jul 16, 2018

Turftoe

Discussion Starter · Jun 28, 2018

I've lurked for a while here and finally decided to create an account to get some advice.

My house was built last year and the bermuda sod was laid mid July last year. I have just recently taken a big interest in making my lawn look it's best. It looked great all last season, but this year it has been really lacking in the color department.

I mow once every week with my rotary push mower and I just ordered a manual reel mower for the fun of it. Are there any recommendations as to what I can do to make my lawn better?

Applied weed-b-gone spray in April and just put down 24-0-11 fertilizer (unfortunately right before a monsoon). Located in North ATL Ga

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jun 28, 2018

Durso81 said:
Welcome

What height of cut are you trying to maintain? Depending on what height your trying to maintain you may have to mow more then once a week. Looks like to me it got tall and you scalped down and now your seeing the brown stems of the Bermuda.

If Bermuda gets too tall it gets leggy and kind of grows like a tree, has green on top with brown stems.

Hit with a 1lb of nitrogen every month. This time of year in ATL if your mowing only once a week and with all the rain we are having you will probably need to mow at 2.5-3". Which is not optimal height but can look decent and green.

If you want to maintain it at a lower height your going to have to mow more often.

Thanks for the response! I will start mowing more often to see if that helps.

My Home Depot just got Milorganite back in stock, should I put that down as well?

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jun 29, 2018

Tellycoleman said:
Durso81 said:

Also just a heads up. While that tree in your front yard is small you might want to get rid of it. As when it's gets bigger the Bermuda will not do good. I ended up having to change grass types in my front cause of a tree and shade.

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You better get rid of that tree while you can. Is it an oak? Do not pass go do not collect $200.
Trees and Bermuda don't mix . The bigger the tree gets the worse your grass will be.
Can you take a close up of your grass blades that appear brownish? All that rain you have been having and your tall height of cut can lead to fungus.

I will start jumping through the HOA hoops now to remove the tree. Thanks to you and @Durso81 for the tip.

How should I plant grass after the tree is gone? Sod? New seed? I just want it to look the same once it grows in.

I will get some close up shots when I am home this afternoon, if there isn't a monsoon.

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 29, 2018

Durso81 said:
Do not do seed. Couple options.

1. Fertilize water and mow it will eventually fill in.

2. Get a plugger tool pull plugs from your good areas and put them in were the tree was.

3. By sod. Find out what type of Bermuda the builder put in. Most likely tifway being your in ga.

Yeah I would present it to the HOA as when this tree gets bigger it will shade out the Bermuda and the Bermuda will die and then your yard will look like crap. Allot of people in my neighborhood are removing there trees as there lawns look like crap and the HOA is sending out notices.

I will weigh those options while I work to get it approved through the HOA(30 day process and have to get all neighbors to agree). I'm leaning more towards the first two options since I have such a difficult time getting sod leveled on this red GA clay.

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #10 · Jun 29, 2018

Jacob_S said:
Unless HOA states there must be a tree you should be good to remove without approval in my mind.

I agree, but I would rather follow their process no matter how pointless it is, than get a fine. I give them enough money as it is :lol:

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jun 29, 2018

I guess I can get out there at midnight with a headlamp on... If they can't prove that I removed it, then I can't be fined. Right?

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #18 · Jun 30, 2018

Here are some close ups of the brown patches. You can even see some of the milo I put down if you look close

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #19 · Jun 30, 2018

Colonel K0rn said:
You wouldn't hurt it at all if you put down some higher N content fertilizer, with at least 0.75-1#N/M. It's regular practice for bermuda owners to use that much N per month on their lawns. What you have to keep in mind is that the condition of the turf is telling you exactly what is going on. Is it starved of nutrition? Are there insects? Too much water? It's a marathon, and not a sprint, but in this instance, it looks like you need to give your grass some more food.

Another thing is to check the condition of the grass blades, after you mow. How much leaf tissue do you see above the soil surface? Similar to what @Durso81 said, you might need to bring that total lawn surface down (scalp it) and let it grow back up to your maintenance HOC. What you're seeing is likely the stalks of the grass, as it's gotten pretty leggy, and you're cutting off the leaf tissue.

It's warm enough here that if you scalp it, it'll be recovered in a few weeks, and you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

Welcome to TLF, glad you found us! :thumbup:

Thanks for the advice! I put down a healthy dose of milo and I'm going to cut it low this afternoon

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #22 · Jul 1, 2018

firefighter11 said:
That last set of photos has got some wider blade stuff. Any possibility it's mixed with centipede or st Augustine?

Not that I'm aware of. The builder put the sod down this time last year and I'm not sure what type of bermuda exactly. I do know that I have several spots that look like tall fescue coming through, but I'm not 100% sure. I might post those in the Weed ID thread tomorrow to get some other opinions.

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #24 · Jul 1, 2018

firefighter11 said:
Turftoe said:

firefighter11 said:

That last set of photos has got some wider blade stuff. Any possibility it's mixed with centipede or st Augustine?

Click to expand...

Not that I'm aware of. The builder put the sod down this time last year and I'm not sure what type of bermuda exactly. I do know that I have several spots that look like tall fescue coming through, but I'm not 100% sure. I might post those in the Weed ID thread tomorrow to get some other opinions.

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Just for kicks when you do, grab a stolon from the plant and share it also. That can go a long way do iD

Here you go. I have several patches of this around the yard and weed killer doesn't seem to phase it. Looks like a tall fescue to me, but I don't know much.

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #29 · Jul 3, 2018

Just bought a manual reel mower and tried it out today, so I should be good as far as sharp blades. I think its slowly starting to green up, or at least I hope. I have thought about aerating next week and picking up the cores. Just to break down the thatch and compaction. I would like to aerate in the spring as well and put a couple of tons of sand to level everything out. Any thoughts?

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #31 · Jul 3, 2018

Darrell said:
Turftoe said:

Just bought a manual reel mower and tried it out today, so I should be good as far as sharp blades. I think its slowly starting to green up, or at least I hope. I have thought about aerating next week and picking up the cores. Just to break down the thatch and compaction. I would like to aerate in the spring as well and put a couple of tons of sand to level everything out. Any thoughts?

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How did the manual reel work out? Was it hard to push?

It hung up in spots that were unlevel, it really showed me how bumpy my lawn is. But other than that it worked flawlessly. Gave a few stripes in places, but here are some pics

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #33 · Jul 14, 2018

@Tellycoleman @Durso81

I got that tree removed, now it's time to see how long it takes for the grass to take over :thumbup:

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #38 · Jul 15, 2018

jayhawk said:
Consider a bed of sorts around that utility box, plant an Ornamental Grass: Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' for example to hide the box...just an idea.

If you need small amounts of sod, pikes sells tifftuff sod that is isn't dried out (like h despot)

So plant on top of the utility box?

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #39 · Jul 15, 2018

Turftoe said:
jayhawk said:

Consider a bed of sorts around that utility box, plant an Ornamental Grass: Miscanthus sinensis 'Gracillimus' for example to hide the box...just an idea.

If you need small amounts of sod, pikes sells tifftuff sod that is isn't dried out (like h despot)

Click to expand...

So plant on top of the utility box?

Never mind. I thought you were talking about the meter cover on the right. I won't plant sod on the utility box :lol:

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #44 · Jul 15, 2018

RandyMan said:
Turftoe said:

firefighter11 said:

Just for kicks when you do, grab a stolon from the plant and share it also. That can go a long way do iD

Click to expand...

Here you go. I have several patches of this around the yard and weed killer doesn't seem to phase it. Looks like a tall fescue to me, but I don't know much.

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I am pretty sure this is some kind of wild rye grass. It spreads fast and really grows aggressively in early spring when the bermuda is dormant..It looks bad because you will have unwanted patches of green in your beige bermuda in march - april, you will also have to pull the mower out earlier because of this stuff.I have it too
Right now its hard to notice because its all green, well at least my bermuda is :mrgreen:

That makes a lot of sense being a rye grass. Is there anything that will kill the rye and not affect the bermuda?

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Turftoe

Discussion Starter · #46 · Jul 16, 2018

@RandyMan yeah I posted it there, but didn't get much feedback. I may mark the spots and use round up when the bermuda goes dormant. I'm out of ideas at this point :roll:

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