New Bermuda sod going yellowish brown after 2 weeks

10 years ago

So brand new to this forum. I was looking at old postings but could not find a direct answer. I just had a house built. A bermuda grass was used in the rear. The installer also installed a type of polyemer that helps retain mostiure. I have been watering it to his schedule. Every other day for about a half hour (using a wand style hose sprinkler). The Sod was really green at first but now it is starting to go yellowish brown. I have two squares that I know pretty much died although some green is coming through again. I spent money to get this done and I have never dealt with sod (first new house). I did not do an automatic sprinkler because my yard is way to small. The parts that the wand cannot get too I water by hand. Does grass go into shock like this since it was dug up then put back down and rolled? I can post pics in a little bit as I assume that would help. I have pulled up corners and the soild benith the sod is moiste and there are roots coming through, not many but roots are coming throught the sod.

Second question, the builder did the front yard and did the single most grayish sod ever. Not one spec of green. I complained, they now tell me they will install new grass but after watering it for 2 weeks green is coming through. I spent money to get the front pulled (next day after initiall install) to get the polyemer applied. Should I just keep going with this crap they gave me or should I just say install new stuff?

I have tried calling the the land scapper but he does not really contact me back, first because I don't think he likes me and secondly he did tell me he is know going through a family issue. Any help would be great!

Comments (13)

rager_w
10 years ago
The good news is that tan Bermuda is simply just dormant. Its not abnormal after laying new sod. Gray is bad, usually means dead. The pic shows when I installed a pallet of TifGrand. It now looks really good.

If you're not getting rain, you really should be watering a couple times a day until it roots. You could apply some root stimulator, but that's $$$.
Vandy58
Original Author
10 years ago
Here is a pic, more coming
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Well I am a sod farmer along the Red River on the TX side so take that for what it is worth. 1. How long should I wait before I mow it the first time? You shouldnÂt wait any longer, it is past time. I am certain you have Tifway-I aka 419 Bermuda. Tifway is best maintained between Â½ to 1 inch in height. If you have a rotary type mower lower it all the way down which should be around 1 to 1-1/2 inches depending on the brand. Tifway is best maintained with a reel type that can go down to Â½ inch. The other thing to remember is Tifway (all Bermuda grass is an aggressive grower and requires to be cut every few days 2. I have read that when I mow it, I should keep the level high. Is this true? No, where ever you heard that from is clueless! 3. I purchased a bag of Vigro fertilizer for new grass. Should I apply it before or after I mow the lawn? Well what does the bag ratio say? Something like 10-0-5 or what? Regardless it was the wrong type. Your very first application in the spring when the grass is about 50% green should be a ratio of 3-1-2 (15-5-10) or 4-1-2 (20-5-10). Then every 30 to 45 days should use a straight nitrogen product like 39-0-0. Lesco is in you area and has every one of these ratios in a slow release urea formulation. Lou was right about what to use, but I think the price is much lower in the neighborhood of $22 to $27 for a 50 pound bag. Box stores like Home Depot also carry Lesco in limited formulations You can use what you have for the first application and the trick is to apply 1-pound of nitrogen for every 1000 square feet. To figure that out take the first number in the ratio and divide it into 100. So for example if the ratio on the bag says 10-0-10, 100/10=10. So you would apply 10-pounds of product to every 1000/ft2 4. There are several weeds growing. Is it ok to use Weed-Be-Gone? Wait till the weather is warmed up good and the grass is actively growing before using and post-emergence. FWIW if you properly mow, water, and fertilize the weeds will disappear on there own as Bermuda will choke most any thing out.
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Vandy58
Original Author
10 years ago
This is the front! Believe it or not there is more green then two weeks ago!! Thanks for the reply already! What do you think with the pics?
jacksnife
10 years ago
What do you think with the pics?

My first thought was, did they roll it? then I thought what a nice job they did laying it out... surely these were pro's and they must have rolled it good. The my final thought is that it's thirsty and needs water more often (not to be confused with more water)

This post was edited by jacksnife on Thu, May 9, 13 at 22:17
texas_weed
10 years ago
Where are you at in TX? What I see is dormant Bermuda. North TX has the coldest spring on record and many parts the Bermuda has not woke up from its winter slumber.
Vandy58
Original Author
10 years ago
@texas weed I am in Austin. Apparently the first pallet was even worse, this was the better one! We are getting a lot of rain today and tomorrow so I will see what it looks like in the next couple of days

As to watering more often I cannot for two reasons, first I work as does my wife, second and more importantly Austin is in a sever drought right now with insane water restrictions. With new sod I get some exceptions but not a lot! As it stands I can only water every other day for 1 more week then it is 2x a week for a couple of weeks then I am on full restriction. Every Sunday before 10am OR after 7:00pm. That is why Bermuda is now the only grass to code. No more st. Augustine.
texas_weed
10 years ago
Austin should be pretty well greened up. Do the restrictions allow hand watering with a hose? If so all you need is enough to keep the sod moist.
Vandy58
Original Author
10 years ago
I can hand water, which I tried a couple of days ago and things did get greener so I am sure that is it!

Do you think that front is in remission? It was worse then that when they installed!
dchall_san_antonio
10 years ago
Get a programmable Orbit hose timer. It's the one that takes batteries - about $32 on Amazon.

Your water restrictions are plenty sane. In San Antonio we are limited to 7 hours per week all on one day, and my St Aug is doing great...with the timer.

We've heard that the rest of the cities in Texas are looking at San Antonio as the model for good water restrictions. Ours are supposed to become a little more realistic so you don't have to be up at 3am to start your watering. That part of the program necessitated the use of something programmable. But they are doing away with that. Don't know what the final changes will be.
texas_weed
10 years ago
If you see green, there is hope.
Vandy58
Original Author
10 years ago
Kind of funny, after all this rain the past two days the back has gone very green and the front has even more green! So looks like it was just water!

I will get one of those hose timers!

When can you start mowing sod? The front was really long when installed and I am not sure if that slows down the growing process with Bermuda? I am from Colorado so I know Kentucky blue not Bermuda
lou_spicewood_tx
10 years ago
Bermuda does not tolerate late mowing very well. Have to mow consistently to keep it looking decent. If you wait too long and it gets too tall, you end up with brown spots after mowing. St Augustine grass is much more tolerant on that. It's kind of dumb that 'Floratam' cultivar is not allowed considering that it is very drought hardy. Zoysia 'Palisades' would have been better choice than bermuda for it's shade tolerance if you have trees. Look for Texas Weed's Bermuda Bible on how to care for bermuda. Kinda demanding if you want it to look decent.
Vandy58
Original Author
10 years ago
So mow after a few weeks? Week three starts this week

New Bermuda sod going yellowish brown after 2 weeks

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New Bermuda sod going yellowish brown after 2 weeks

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