It will be fine. I started reel mowing my Bermuda this year and most of the year I kept it at 5/8" tall. Never had a single problem with drought.

 

Agreed. You won't need anymore water than you're currently giving the lawn.

 

lower hoc = shorter roots due to the fact that taller plants grab more sunlight. Less sunlight has to manifest itself somewhere...rooting is an area where you can find that manifestation - shorter roots obviously don't venture to any meaningful depths in a soil. Then there's the whole canopy warming much quicker with a lower hoc and the need to transpire faster / more often

 

lower hoc = shorter roots due to the fact that taller plants grab more sunlight. Less sunlight has to manifest itself somewhere...rooting is an area where you can find that manifestation - shorter roots obviously don't venture to any meaningful depths in a soil. Then there's the whole canopy warming much quicker with a lower hoc and the need to transpire faster / more often

With bermuda the opposite is true.

 

As much as I hate the chore, aerating can help water get down into the soil better.

 

lower hoc = shorter roots due to the fact that taller plants grab more sunlight. Less sunlight has to manifest itself somewhere...rooting is an area where you can find that manifestation - shorter roots obviously don't venture to any meaningful depths in a soil. Then there's the whole canopy warming much quicker with a lower hoc and the need to transpire faster / more often

With bermuda the opposite is true.

Not sure if you realize or not but @viva_oldtrafford is a golf course professional.... :lol:

 

lower hoc = shorter roots due to the fact that taller plants grab more sunlight. Less sunlight has to manifest itself somewhere...rooting is an area where you can find that manifestation - shorter roots obviously don't venture to any meaningful depths in a soil. Then there's the whole canopy warming much quicker with a lower hoc and the need to transpire faster / more often

With bermuda the opposite is true.

Not sure if you realize or not but @viva_oldtrafford is a golf course professional.... :lol:

And? Still doesn't change facts. Bermuda grass is a low growing grass that actually "grabs more sunlight" when it is cut shorter, unlike longer Bermuda grass that becomes thinner because is shades itself out.

 

With bermuda the opposite is true.

Not sure if you realize or not but @viva_oldtrafford is a golf course professional.... :lol:

And? Still doesn't change facts. Bermuda grass is a low growing grass that actually "grabs more sunlight" when it is cut shorter, unlike longer Bermuda grass that becomes thinner because is shades itself out.

So when dealing with a shaded turf, I should actually cut the plant lower, because allowing it to go taller only creates more shade? How exactly does a shorter leaf blade grab more sunlight?

 

With bermuda the opposite is true.

Not sure if you realize or not but @viva_oldtrafford is a golf course professional.... :lol:

And? Still doesn't change facts. Bermuda grass is a low growing grass that actually "grabs more sunlight" when it is cut shorter, unlike longer Bermuda grass that becomes thinner because is shades itself out.

https://www.canr.msu.edu/uploads/resources/pdfs/mowing_lawn_turf_(e0013).pdf
"but mowing too short will reduce the vigor of the plants by reducing their ability to manufacture food"

 

With bermuda the opposite is true.

Not sure if you realize or not but @viva_oldtrafford is a golf course professional.... :lol:

And? Still doesn't change facts. Bermuda grass is a low growing grass that actually "grabs more sunlight" when it is cut shorter, unlike longer Bermuda grass that becomes thinner because is shades itself out.

https://extension.psu.edu/growing-turf-under-shaded-conditions

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/EP072

"Mow grass at the highest recommended height for the species. The increased mowing height allows for more leaf area. The more leaf area, the more light the grass can absorb. Higher mowing heights promote deeper rooting, which is one of the key mechanisms of stress management."

https://www.uaex.edu/publications/PDF/FSA-6140.pdf

http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/publications/selecting-and-managing-turfgrass-for-shade

https://www.golfcourseindustry.com/article/shade-versus-turfgrass--a-no-win-situation---research-/

https://sportsfieldmanagementonline.com/2016/06/14/understanding-assessing-and-managing-sports-turf-shade-issues/8055/

https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ay/ay-14-w.pdf

just a handful of articles to comb thru. lmk what you think

 

With bermuda the opposite is true.

Not sure if you realize or not but @viva_oldtrafford is a golf course professional.... :lol:

And? Still doesn't change facts. Bermuda grass is a low growing grass that actually "grabs more sunlight" when it is cut shorter, unlike longer Bermuda grass that becomes thinner because is shades itself out.

https://ag.umass.edu/turf/fact-sheets/lawn-mowing - "Close mowing reduces the amount of leaf area available for photosynthesis and in turn may reduce plant vigor. As cutting height is reduced, lawns become less tolerant of environmental stresses and more prone to invasion by weeds than lawns maintained at a higher cutting height."

https://sportsfieldmanagementonline.com/2008/03/18/how-turfgrasses-respond-to-mowing/4966/

https://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_h/H505/welcome.html

 

So now I'm confused. Do I cut my Bermuda at 0.5" or "2.5" 🤣🤣

 

Not sure if you realize or not but @viva_oldtrafford is a golf course professional.... :lol:

And? Still doesn't change facts. Bermuda grass is a low growing grass that actually "grabs more sunlight" when it is cut shorter, unlike longer Bermuda grass that becomes thinner because is shades itself out.

https://ag.umass.edu/turf/fact-sheets/lawn-mowing - "Close mowing reduces the amount of leaf area available for photosynthesis and in turn may reduce plant vigor. As cutting height is reduced, lawns become less tolerant of environmental stresses and more prone to invasion by weeds than lawns maintained at a higher cutting height."

https://sportsfieldmanagementonline.com/2008/03/18/how-turfgrasses-respond-to-mowing/4966/

https://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_h/H505/welcome.html

I agree with you on most if not all other types of lawns, just not a bermuda lawn. I have never seen a 2.5-3 inch bermuda lawn that is thick and dence. A bermuda lawn cut at those heights will not choke out weeds but instead will be thin and leggy. On the other hand, a bermuda lawn that is mowed at .5 or below with become so dence it might choke itself out. Bermuda loves the sun. The shorter you cut it, the more grow points the stolons create, in turn more leaves to catch the sun and a new and also deeper root system.

 

So now I'm confused. Do I cut my Bermuda at 0.5" or "2.5" 🤣🤣

Lower hoc = more inputs. It's the reason putting greens require more tlc when compared to, say, a fairway or tee...or a tee / fairway vs rough. Cutting is a stress by itself, cutting a plant very low is a real stress...that's why we have thresholds with certain grasses.

 

Nice job guys. Way to high jack the original posters question.

 

Nice job guys. Way to high jack the original posters question.

Hardly. Op now has links to roughly 10+ scholarly articles / pages which answer his question / concern.

 

Your profile says 'bermuda' and 1 acre. I don't think youre reel'n an acre anytime soon?

So if that's 419 Bermuda, .5" vs 3" the delta in water needs( for a subset of that acre ) would be hardly noticeable IMO. If concern is cost...it's a few Starbucks coffee in diff. My tifgrand is .5, not irrigated (beauty strip)...vs avg joe neighbor who doesn't irrigate in Atlanta? Hard to say who shows stress sooner,.

Tall Bermuda generally becomes a small salad mix or breakouts of crab/Dallas/goose around here ....could be from budget companies relying on the cheap preEm

 

Thanks for all the replies. I was going to reel my front lawn which is about 3000ft2. The back I would continue to mow with rotary. I enjoy mowing. I'm the only person I know that pushes an acre but it's good exercise.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I was going to reel my front lawn which is about 3000ft2. The back I would continue to mow with rotary. I enjoy mowing. I'm the only person I know that pushes an acre but it's good exercise.

You are welcome to come over and try it out. I'm in G'Ville area (near where Woodruff Rd and E. Georgia meet). I'm on a half-acre lot that I reel-mow almost all of the time. I would not want to do more with a reel.