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why my bermuda is soo tall

12 years ago

Hello all,

can someone help me, my bermuda I think thats what it is, gets very tall compared to my neighbors I am talking about the seed head.. here is a pic.. I have a company that fertilize my lawn so don't know why is this or maybe normal.. thanks

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Comments (10)

texas_weed
12 years ago
Probal because you do not mow frequently enough or low enough. Are you mowing 2 times a week at 1-1/2 inches or less?
solrac6262
Original Author
12 years ago
no, only 1 time at 1-1/2" but neighbors I think they do it also weekly .. and they don't get those big seed heads :S
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There is no herbicide that will distinguish between common and Tif419 Bermuda. You're stuck with it forever. All of us are. Even if you could completely eradicate it in your lawn, someone somewhere is going to let his common Bermuda go to see and some of it will find its way to your lawn. The best we can do is to use cultural practices to encourage the Tif and discourage the common. The Tif thrives with lower cutting. You've already discovered that the common likes to grow taller. Hence, the reason for low mowing. When mowed low, the Tif gets very dense and thick. The common Bermuda is still there somewhere but it kind of gets lost in the thick Tif. A reel mower will allow you to mow down to a half inch or less. Yes, this is better but it would require you to mow every other day. I get the feeling that you wouldn't be too thrilled about the mowing frequency. Mowed at 1", the reel will give a superior cut and it will look better. As far as making the common Bermuda disappear, it's no better than cutting with your rotary. I think your main problem is the once a week cutting. As you've noticed, common Bermuda grows a lot more in a week's time than Tif. Double the mowing frequency and see what you think. I don't know exactly how old that sod is but I don't see the seams. If it were mine, I'd fertilize, water, and follow the Bermuda Bible. It's Bermuda and once established, you can't kill it, as you've discovered with the common Bermuda. Short of spraying RoundUp, you can't do anything to harm it that can't be fixed in a week or two. Feel free to experiment. That's half the fun of growing and maintaining a lawn.
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I use bonide as well. Actually just did my first application with it this weekend. I too applied to little, but in spots around my driveway and walkway (where I was trying to be careful not to get on the concrete), I actually saw the grass turn almost to a black color. I went back and re-read the directions and I did not apply enough to the whole yard. 1 gallon covers only 1k sq ft. My front yard is around 8600 sq ft and I only applied 4 gallons. I am going to start a new thread that show results of the applications, but here is a few pics of what I saw after a day or 2. Note for reason the grass isn't as green as it should be: 1) it is common Bermuda-seeded 2 years ago. 2) Haven't fertilized in over a month due to the rain 3) cut it very short last week to get back to the height I wanted the grass at. Cut 2 days apart and 2nd cut too over a little more than 1/3 of the blade. 4) I also am dealing with bumpy yard and uneven cut from my mower, which currently working on to improve.
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neilaz
12 years ago
Lower grade of Bermuda? Also you may not have the same grass as your neighbors.
nearandwest
12 years ago
And another thing...I know some people who were better able to manage bermudagrass seedheads after they sharpened their mower blades. They were mowing with a dull blade. How sharp is your mower blade?
solrac6262
Original Author
12 years ago
same company does the neighbors so I don't think is the blades, but I did have an area with new grass and I don't have that problem. front looks ugly with all those seed heads, what can I do to take care of this problem if it is bad grade bermuda?? thanks
david_tx
12 years ago
Well, off the top of my head, I can think of three things you can do if it's a lower grade Bermuda:

1. Mow a little lower and more often.
2. Hit the lawn with round up and start over
3. Give it an extra dose of high N fertilizer.

The first two suggestions are guaranteed to work. The third one might not but it's cheap enough to try. Even if the lawn has already been fertilized, you don't know what they used. My guess is the standard 3-1-2 ratio. Maybe it just needs more N. Bermuda is a nitrogen hog and it's hard to use too much of it. Just water it.

Of course, if you do add the N and water, you'll have to mow more often, which leads back to #1 above. :)
dchall_san_antonio
12 years ago
Yikes! Those are tall. The tall ones are characteristic of common bermuda (low grade). The reason the hybrids were developed was to get rid of the tall seed heads. Some don't have seeds at all and can only be grown from existing sod. Other seeded varieties just have slower or lower growing seed heads.

Round up is the solution to common bermuda. There is a process involved. You can't spray it once and think you got it all. Texas Weed can help you with details if that is what you want to do. Bermuda seed needs hot weather to germinate so NOW is the time to start planning a bermuda renovation.
david_tx
12 years ago
I changed my front yard from common bermuda to Princess77 several years ago. I started with the Round Up in late August or early September. I figured that the lawn would be dormant soon anyway so I just got to look at brown grass a little sooner.

The timing gave me all winter to prepare the lawn for seeding in late May/early June of the following season.
solrac6262
Original Author
12 years ago
thank you all for the info, the other questions is, can it be crabgrass stalks???

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nearandwest
12 years ago
No, those seedheads in the earlier photos are definitely bermudagrass seedheads.

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