I see this problem frequently with new construction, usually because rye is often used for soil retention prior to sodding, but the scenario is still very similar. It is also one of the reasons I've developed a disdain for rye. 1) Don't use an herbicide right now. This may be hard to swallow as I imagine you used Annual Rye and it is growing like the weed it is, but your lawn is not established enough to use an herbicide strong enough to kill the rye. For now, keep it mowed down short, and keep it watered until it roots. 2) Again, no herbicide. I love Celsius WG and have used it since it hit the market. It is a great product, and will be useful for you at some point, but under the label restrictions it clearly warns to "use this product on established turf only," and this isn't just to skirt damage claims, the warning is there for good reason. 3&4) "Scalping" is done during dormancy and topdressing is done during active growth. Keep in mind a scalping is just the pruning off of last season's dead growth, so if your sod didn't grow the scalping need should be fairly light. Also, consider rolling the lawn with a water filled drum to smooth it and insure that the roots are making good contact. The fact that it didn't grow after being put down concerns me, as sod is vulnerable to dehydration until it roots. 5) Yes, to an extent. Bermuda is one of the more hardy grasses so I've never seen it killed by scalping it. However, I have seen it stunted by scalping it during the growing season. So again, cut it down now and top-dress later. When it's actively growing, the root system pulls water primarily through a process call Transpirational Pull, which is the release of water through the leaves that creates a pull through the capillaries that reach all the way to the root system. When an actively growing leaf is removed, it interrupts this process and reduces the root systems draw on the soil moisture. Also, make sure to apply a good starter fertilizer this Spring to encourage the root system to root as quickly as possible. Once it is established and you're mowing regularly, you can go after any lingering ryegrass or other weeds without worry. Just remember to always check label restrictions. Here is a link that might be useful: .

Lilman I looked over your photos, not uncommon what you are experiencing, not is it as bad as you think. What you see is somewhat normal. The tan or dormant grass is drought dormancy, meaning the grass has gone dormant to protect itself from being too dry. It is too dry because it has no roots to speak of to pull water up from the sub soil, and because you have not been keeping it watered enough for the local conditions. If it has been rather warm and windy will suk the moisture right out of the sod even though you have been watering lightly twice a day. Up the water as it is almost impossible to over water new Bermuda sod. You may have to water lightly 4 to 6 times a day. What I suggest is give it a good thorough soaking asap so as to make the ground a bit on the soggy side, then water enough each day to keep the sod good and moist without any standing water. Then when it greens up apply a good balanced fertilizer like 15-10-5 or even some ole fashion 10-20-10 to accelerate root development and start weening off the water. Just be patient and it will be nice thick and green in a couple short weeks. As long as the grass is tan or straw colored you still have live grass. Black or grey is dead.

There is a gents named texasweed who is a retired sod farmer and lurks the board. I used his method when I had bermuda sod laid twice. It definitely appears to be under watered. I'm not sure it's to late, but maybe he will jump in and give his opinion now. -The area should have been moistened up before the sod arrived. -Once installed, a deep watering to about 6" -Then 2 to 6 times a day (I did 6) moderately to keep soil moist -After 2 weeks, check that the grass is "rooting" by pulling around the lawn. Back off watering to do the first mow. -Then water about 3X's per week in the morning for 2 weeks deeply as you are now trying to drive the roots deeper. -After that, deeply once a week. It worked perfectly for me.

I'm in Pensacola, Fl (though I'm not really new anymore!!). We had 36 pallets (yep! ..a lot!) of El Toro installed in the Spring of 2010, and it is/was INCREDIBlY beautiful. But I've had my ups & downs. The ups are that I treated it organically only, so far, by not using any chemicals, but I did fertilize it 3 times over the spring and summer with rabbit food pellets (alfalfa pellets). The alfalfa pellets helped the roots take exceptionally fast, except along the house where there's shade, and under 2 large oak trees, where there's only about 4 hours of sun/day. So, where I had a lot of sun, and had put down alfalfa, it grew TOO well!! I was mowing twice per week, and (are you sitting down?) I was doing all this all summer long with a Fiskars Reel mower, the new orange one that came out that throws the grass forward, with NO catcher!!) Let's just say I was always mowing!! Every day, I would mow for about 1-2 hours, and use that as my exercise. After the large $$$ investment in the grass, I didn't see fit to buy a riding mower....just yet anyway. Actually, I LOVE the Fiskars mower, but I have almost an acre, and if the grass would grow more slowly, I think I'd be ok with it. So, although it greened up and took root, and was LUSH and THICK and quite possibly the prettiest grass in all of Pensacola, the down-side is that I don't think I can possibly repeat all that work again this coming summer. And the 1 other main problem I had was my own fault. On July 1st, with family/friends coming over for the July 4th weekend, I decided to cut the grass short so I wouldn't have to mow for the whole upcoming week. MAJOR MISTAKE!! I cut the 3" grass down to about 1". It looked FANTASTIC for the next week...and then, boom! It all turned brown! It took about 3 weeks for all of it to come back green again, but meanwhile, the weeds crept in, especially in the shaded areas under my 2 oak trees in the front yard. The side yards and back are in full sun, and though some weeds did get in, there aren't too many that I probably couldn't go in and hand-pull. But the weeds in the shaded area in the front yard (for all my inquisitive neighbors to gawk at) are getting worse throughout the winter and have pretty much taken over the zoysia. My question would be, when and what should I do, for either/or a pre-emergent, and/or post-emergent, even though I hate using chemicals. The alfalfa pellets were so amazing and even my roses and flowers on side beds were phenomenal, once I used alfalfa. I do have very sandy soil, and have been warned that if I ever go to using chemicals, I will kill off the GOOD nematodes, and will end up helping the BAD nematodes, and once I have the bad nematodes, this grass is pretty much a permanent bye-bye!! (Another neighbor about 10 yrs ago lost all his zoysia to bad nematodes) The only other problem I've had over the last 6 months or so, are mole hills and tunnels, and I've heard that I can use dishwashing soap in the water-sprayer to get rid of the bugs that attract the moles in the first place. I still have a bunch of mole hills/tunnels in the front yard, where there's shade and weeds. I've not really had any mole tunnels in the super sunny areas. So my questions are: 1. should I use chemicals for the weeds, and if so, what and when? 2. When should I scalp the grass this spring? And how short should I scalp it? 3. Should I keep using alfalfa, and when, and what else would help as far as fertilizer? 4. Any other thoughts?