To answer the first question, yes it insulates it from the harsh winters in NC. And to answer the second Q, I always do (or did, I should say because I switched to a different type of grass that was better for my climate) and it never did much in september. The grass just sat there and really didn't grow once the cooler weather rolled in and that would be now.

But what height do you recommend to insulate properly. I have an electric reel mower and it struggles with heights above 1 and 1/2 inches. Should I just be letting it grow or should I continue to mow at 1 and 1/4? I have come up a little bit since the middle of the summer.

I was not planning on fertilizing again.

One additional questions...I heard that it was good to "burn off" burmuda once it was dormant. Can you confirm or deny this?

I have really nice bermuda (the nicest grass in the neighborhood, to be humble :-)) and want to keep it that way.

Thanks again.

I suppose the higher the better. The greater your R value :-)
Just do it at an inch or so that's really pretty high in my opinion. I cut mine at a half inch.

There's a guy in the next sub from me that owns a lawn service and does really good work. He knows what he's doing. He swears by burning the dormant grass in the spring before it comes out. You don't want to do it before the winter obviously. I have tried to burn dead bermuda to remove it and after about 20 s.f. I realized just how freaking dangerous it is. It's not worth burning down your house.

Thanks...I will keep mine at 1 and 1/4 for this winter and see what happens. I am really curious about burning but am a little nervous about it getting away from me.

I know that next year I am going to keep it at 3/4. It looks better and is easier to cut. I will just need to do a little sanding to even out the bumps.

What kind of reel mower do your have? The fire spreads VERY quickly. You'd have to have your torch and hose handy and do small areas at a time but doing both at the same time isn't easy. When I did it, it spread faster than it burns itself out. Meaning I was having to pre-emptively wet a lot of grass. That wet grass of course didn't burn. Then embers stared blowing up in my face. That's about the point I said awf'ckit.

Raise the cutting height as high as you can but no more than double what you normally keep it at. Bermuda should be fertilized every 30 to 45 days up till about 30-days before your first frost date.

IMO do not burn it next spring, too much risk and too little benifit. Next spring when you seeing it start to green up scalp it, rake up the debris, and then use one single application of a complete fertlizer like 15-5-10 or 20-5-10. Then for the rest of the year use a quality slow release urea straight nitrogen fertlizer.

I have a Sunlawn EM-2. It is an electric reel mower. It works well when the grass is lower. Unfortunately, I raised the hieght following our vacation and it became more difficult. I only have about 4000 sq ft so it is ok. If you had any more, I would not recommend it. When this one dies, I am going to get a gas reel.

Texas-weed, as always, thank you for your advice. My yard looks great in part (or maybe in full) because of this forum.

It could be that it needs to be cut level then you can cut it with the reel. If everything isn't hitting the bed knife then it will skip right over it.

The problem is that the grass is a little too long and a little too thick and it binds the reel. When it was shorter there was not enough length for it to bind the reel. I am sure that if this mower had a little more rpm it would be fine.

I am not worried, though, because I prefer it shorter. I am just not going to cut it low because of impending winter.

NCbermuda, just how cold does it get there? Does the ground freeze?

Well, it varies. The climate is a little strange. We are in the Piedmont so there are cold nights but very little extended cold periods. Last year was my first year here. We had mornings with lows around 15-20 but the daytime high always seemed to be above freezing. If the ground freezes, it is only for a short period of time and not very deep.

From my perspective as a northerner, it doesn't get cold at all. But that is not a technical answer.

Why do you ask?

I am in the piedmont also, what a lot of people refer to as zone 7 but I don't believe in zones so I don't use them myself but the temps you mention are similar to here. I would never get to raise the height much because come september when the temperature plummets so does the growth rate of this grass and even with fertilizer I haven't been able to get a significant increase in height after cutting it short for the whole season. Nothing major bad has happened to it. Lost a little bit last year but it wasn't a big deal bad might have actually been from a late freeze.
In this area, this is when the optimal growing time for Bermuda comes to an end. It will slow down and lighten up and the zig zag marks come next month then it's all over. So I hope you enjoyed it while it lasted.

Oh, I enjoyed it. It was much easier to care for and looked so much better than my neighbor's fescue. Many people stopped to admire the "golf course." It was great. In fact, almost every yard was overrun with wild bermuda so it must like this area.

I have read the arguments for and against bermuda on this site and I must say that I don't understand why anyone would want to water fescue constantly. In the midst of one of the hottest and driest summers, I watered no more than once a week. My grass was beautiful. And I don't mind the dormant look.

NC the reason I asked is because frozen ground is the killer for Bermuda, especially a dry freeze. If the ground never freezez solid and deeply, then letting it grow tall for insulation is not much of value.

What you can do is if you know an extended cold snap is approaching and there is no moisture in the ground like a preceeding rain or snowfall water the lawn so you do not have a dry freeze.