Should I Overseed Once Again? (Rye Grass on Bermuda)

12 years ago

I had overseeded rye grass on Bermuda with the help of you guys in this thread: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lawns/msg1016142525967.html?14

Now, it has been 2.5 weeks, and I believe it has been long enough to be able to judge whether it was a success... I notice that on some areas, the grass comes up nice and dense, while in other areas it is not really dense at all.

Here are some pictures:

Do you think that the areas that seem problematic will fill out nicely in the following months, or should I overseed one more time? Will overseeding again at the recommended amount will be useful or harmful to the present rye grass that just popped out?

P.S: It's been a strange fall so far and it almost never rained here. (Rain seems unlikely also for the upcoming week.) So I had turned on the sprinkler system 3 times a day for the rye grass seeds.

P.P.S: The place that I purchased the rye grass told me that I can overseed until mid Nov. in our climate, so it seems that if I have to do something, I need to do it as fast as possible.

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Comments (4)

texas_weed
12 years ago
Well now you have learned one reason why the majority of us do not recommend over seeding Bermuda with Rye.

Your result is very typical as it will be patch and have that salt-n-pepper look you have got.

Come spring when your neighbors Bermuda lawns look lush and full, yours will look thin and weak. This is due to the Rye will delay the Bermuda green up and rob it of water and nutrients. It will not look good until the Rye burns completely off, and after the Bermuda recovers. So it may be June or July until it fully recovers.

The reason for the spotty coverage is from not apply at a high enough rate. To overseed requires 2 to 4 times higher application rates. Bermuda is very dense and will not allow most of the seed to make contact with dirt.

To answer your question is yes you can apply again. Come next Fall you might reconsider overseeding.

Good luck

TW
Kanuni
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for your response. Could you also give me advice in regards to the amount of seed to re-apply?

I didn't know that overseeding requires 2 to 4 times higher application rates so I applied what my spreader suggested for a regular rye application. I applied 8 lb per 1000 sq. feet, so I should have applied at least 16 lb per 1000 sq. feet???

So, do I need to apply only the remaining 8 lb per 1000 sq. feet now? Or do I need to apply as if I am overseeding for the first time and apply 16 lb (or more?) per 1000 sq. instead?

In regards to rye weakening the bermuda... Well, I truly HATE my lawn almost half of the year when bermuda is dormant & brown. If it will look weak only in spring but recover in June / July, it is still preferable for me. I will observe how the bermuda looks like next summer and maybe decide on another solution to get rid of bermuda (such as replacing it with St. Augustine maybe?). I am just hoping that maybe the rye will die off quicker in early summer due to our climate here. We have a mediterranean climate, but quite a hot version of it for summer times. I believe our weather is hotter than Southern CA.

So, looking at the current state of my lawn, how much should be the new rye seeds that I will apply (hopefully tomorrow) ??? 8 lb / 1000 sq. feet is enough, or should I apply more - 15- 20 lb???

Thanks in advance.
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texas_weed
12 years ago
Where are you located? In my former home of North TX Bermuda is green 7 to 9 months of the year and that is Z7A. You list as Z9B where I would think Bermuda would be green most of the year like Florida.

FWIW generally speaking, depends on which varieties, Bermuda will stay green longer in the fall, and green up sooner in the spring than Saint Augustine
Kanuni
Original Author
12 years ago
I'm in Izmir, Turkey:

{{gwi:120895}}

Last winter was my first winter with Bermuda, but I hated the look of the lawn between December and mid June.

Btw, just to be safe, I'm planning to apply the rate of 15 lb per 1000 sq. ft. tomorrow as if I am overseeding for the first time. Would this have any negative effect at all on the already popped up rye?

Should I Overseed Once Again? (Rye Grass on Bermuda)

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Should I Overseed Once Again? (Rye Grass on Bermuda)

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texas_weed

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