Can someone help me with grass identification
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I'm trying to learn about maintaining a healthy lawn after many years of just trying to keep it presentable but I'm not sure what type of grass I have to start. I believe it's zoysia but have some other people suggest it might be Bermuda. Full sun zone 8a Alabama. Thanks
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Looks like Bermuda to me. But either cultivar will do well cut short 
Ok from my little bit of research both grasses in my zone are treated similarly so fertilizing shouldn't be an issue. Is cutting it short good for the grass? Currently I cut it once a week and cut length is about 3-4 inches. If I should cut it shorter what steps should I take (just scalp it or mow it every couple days until desired length) and when would be the best time so it can recover? Thanks for replying
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Welcome to TLF fellow bermuda owner! Glad to have you here.
Bermuda does well being scalped when the majority of it is greened up (80%). Best time of the year to scalp bermuda is when it's actively growing, so Springtime. Take it down as low as you are comfortable going, which with your recycler could be 1 1/2" or lower. Go as low as you can, sometimes hitting dirt even. It's going to look bad, but what you're doing is taking off all the leaves that are at the top of the stems, and it's going to look yellow, since there's no leaf tissue down low. Hit it with a pound of N per 1,000 ft², and water it in. You will see an explosion of green within a week's time, and be prepared to mow often when you put that fert on.
Bermuda does well being mowed low, and often. A thick stand of turf is going to be a great defense against weeds. Come Fall, be ready to put down your PreM for the winter weeds. During the summer, you can spot treat the weeds that you have with Celsius and Certainty.
Take your time to read through some of these popular threads Pay particular attention to the Bermuda Triangle, and the Bermuda Bible:TNT.
Bermuda does well being scalped when the majority of it is greened up (80%). Best time of the year to scalp bermuda is when it's actively growing, so Springtime. Take it down as low as you are comfortable going, which with your recycler could be 1 1/2" or lower. Go as low as you can, sometimes hitting dirt even. It's going to look bad, but what you're doing is taking off all the leaves that are at the top of the stems, and it's going to look yellow, since there's no leaf tissue down low. Hit it with a pound of N per 1,000 ft², and water it in. You will see an explosion of green within a week's time, and be prepared to mow often when you put that fert on.
Bermuda does well being mowed low, and often. A thick stand of turf is going to be a great defense against weeds. Come Fall, be ready to put down your PreM for the winter weeds. During the summer, you can spot treat the weeds that you have with Celsius and Certainty.
Take your time to read through some of these popular threads Pay particular attention to the Bermuda Triangle, and the Bermuda Bible:TNT.
Thanks for your response. So I guess Bermuda is my grass. It does scare me to cut that low but I do know the grass I have is very resilient. It has bounced backed many times from my mistakes like leaving yard debris sitting on it waiting for the city to pick up. First my mower would not be able to cut the current length in half with one pass due to thickness. So I would need multiple passes. Should I take up the clippings after each pass as I lower the mower setting? Does it matter that I just applied 2 bags of Milo after my last cut a few days ago front lawn is approximately 5000 sq ft.
I really have no idea. This lawn is at least 20 maybe 30+ years old. The house has been in my family for 60 years and I'm not sure if this is original or if it was sodded at at some different time. I can tell you this is a slow growing grass. I bagged my front maybe 5 years ago and dumped them in a pile in the backyard in about a 5 foot circle and now I have a 20x20 circle of this grass. I wish my whole yard was this grass type and maybe another 5-10 years it will fill in.
+1 I'm no Zoysia expert but a lot of those grass blades look more like Zoysia than bermuda to me. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a mix of the two in there.Spammage said:
Yes I'm sure I need that. I took just a hard metal rake and did a 2x2 section and had enough what looked like clippings and dead grass to fill a paper grocery sack. When would be a good time to do this and the grass stay healthy?Redtenchu said:
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Now is the best time.Keeb22 said:
For a lawn that size, I would look into renting a powered dethatcher or purchasing one of the corded electric dethatchers online.
If price is an obstacle: Your rake will work fine, just do a small section each day until you've covered the entire lawn.
Ok. I'm on the fence my wallet says thatching rake $35 but my back says rent or buy. I can rent for $65 a day or buy for around $150. So should I mow low to begin with, rake up, power rake north/south then east/west, rake up thatch, then put something down to help heal the lawn or prevent weeds. I already applied some Milo a few days ago. Thanks for taking time to respond.Redtenchu said:
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