*gasp* someone wants to plant it....on purpose?
Sorry, amdvar...just teasing with ya. :-) I know lots of folks love bermuda and can probably help with your question. I am one of the other folks constantly fighting to get it out my gardens....veggie and flower. I would gladly give you all mine if I could. Shhhhhh, don't tell hubby. He actually likes grass too! :-)

~Heidi

Funny you should ask, I was just asking my husband that last night. Grass it not my thing, but we have some bare spots that I can't wait to get seeded as well. The dogs have just made a mess this winter. Unfortunately, it has to be pretty consistantly warm to bermuda to germintate, usually may to June. I am pretty sure that there are some grasses that germinate in lower temps that die off in the heat. You could use that as a temporary solution until then. Hope that helps.

You can plant it from mid-spring on, but it depends on where you are. The problem with gardening is that there are few definite rules that cannot be broken or twisted, depending on the circumstances.

The technically correct answer is that bermuda grass germinates best and grows best at about 70 degrees. (This does not mean 70 degree days and 35 degree nights like we're having right now!)

If you are in Zone 7B you could plant a little earlier than someone in Zone 7A.

If your home/lawn are in a fairly warm microclimate, you could plant earlier as opposed to later. See, I am in a low-lying valley-type area near the Red River and cold air/frosts descend into the lower areas, so I would have to plant later. But if you are on higher, warmer ground you could plant a little earlier.

If you are planting common bermuda, it is tougher and can go in a little earlier. If you are planting one of the TIF hybrids, I think it would be happier going in later.

If you are planting into sandy soil or sandy loam, you can plant earlier cause it warms up earlier whereas clay soil stays cold longer so should be planted in later.

For more info than you probably want on bermuda grass, go to Seedland's website (www.bermudagrss.com).

I consider myself a master at growing bermuda. This technique has never failed for me and I'm sure will be successful for you as well. First, prepare the soil where you wish to plant by removing thatch and gently scraping the surface with a rake. Next, using your small shovel, dig the perfect hole and add ammendments. Then plant the best tomato plant that you can afford in the perfect hole you just made. Water carefully, then sit back and do nothing for a week. Within that time, the entire area should be completely covered with thick, lush bermuda. At least that is how it works in my garden every year.

Skeetermaget,

You made me laugh with your recommendation!!! Your garden has a lot in common with mine.

I have a bermuda grass story: When we bought our property it was part of an old farm that hadn't been "farmed" in over 20 years, although it had cattle grazing on it every now and them. It appeared to be a mixture of every pasture grass known to mankind...big bluestem, little bluestem, blue grama, gamma, curly mesquite grass, Johnson grass, you name it, we had it. Also, many many wildflowers and weeds, and greenbrier.

I was actually happy. Loved the wildflowers and prairie grasses. Thought it would be easier to remove them to plant "good grass" than to fight the evil, invasive bermuda grass I once had in Fort Worth. THEN, we mowed the land in preparation for the building of the house. Had to keep it mowed around the building site because of snakes! What did we find? Once mowing commenced, all the lovely prairie grasses and wildflowers disappeared, replaced by bermuda grass. We didn't plant it! It was just sitting there waiting for us to mow the tall stuff so it could resume its march on the path to world domination!

One of my "old farmer" neighbors, who lived about 7/10s of the road up from us stopped by one day. He was about 87 or 88 at the time. He was SO EXCITED about the bermuda grass. Couldn't quit talking about how great it was that it "came back" after we "mowed the pasture". I just stood there and smiled and nodded my head. Didn't want to argue the merits of bermuda grass with a new neighbor, but inside I was screaming "No, no, no, I don't want it!"

I have been fighting to get it out of my veggie garden and flower beds ever since.

Dawn

very few good varieties of bermuda from seed, yukon is pretty good, numex sahara and common are awful, just dig some plugs from existing lawn and plant in bare areas

i would love to empahasie how much of a problem bermuda grass is. i am a gardener/permaculturist, and am dealing with two large gardens where bermuda grass is pervasive. once it's there, it's not leaving. maybe this is good if you want to cover your bare ground, but perhaps a longer-term, more sustainable appraoch would keep future generations from cursing you :-)
If you want to see more, just type in 'bermuda grass' into a search engine and see page after page of forums talking about all the (not-so-succesful) ways of dealing with bermuda grass. usually right next to commercial sites selling bermuda seed.
go figure...

would love to see a forum dedicated to figuring out how to deal with this grass. i have wayched a three-year old garden project spend most time and resources on 'combatting' the stuff to no avail. it appears sheet-mulching is a good idea, only if you plan to aggressivle yplant and tend IMMEDIATELY and consistantly. otherwise, you just beat out all of the B-grasses competition and gave it a clear playing field. it seems to espcially appreciate wood chips, since nothing else can grow in it.
on the flip side, tho. the 3 year old garden is beginning to have some feral seeds coming up and growing in with the bermuda grass, at least to some degree. was quite amazded to see this and imagine it's probably a better bet to workwith it once it's there. I have seen many spots sheet mulched and then taken over (near 100%) by the stuff.
I have never seen a solution, although many folks say you can A dig it up. B spray poisen on it for years. or C Give up...
i'd love to hear other folks experiences...

Oh no! Don't do it! Plant something else.

If I could do it all over I'd plant my entire yard in Buffalo Grass. It takes drought well, is soft and pretty, and NEVER has to be mowed. When that Genie pops out of the lamp my first wish is NO bermuda. :)

WindsurfGirl

I wholeheartily agree with Windsurf Girl!

I want buffalo grass too! I want it, I want it, I want it!

The problem is, I can't get rid of the bermuda grass, and of course the bermuda grass will outcompete buffalo grass if I plant it. (In the "pasture" areas where we don't mow and where we also don't irrigate, we have buffalo grass. Wonder if I could move the house 100 yards and set it down in that pasture?)

If I could do the yard all over again, I would have a guy with a bulldozer remove the top six inches of clay soil complete with all those bermuda grass roots, and we'd haul in good sandy loam topsoil and plant buffalo grass. (Sigh.)

Windsurf Girl, when you're through with that Genie, please send him our way!

Dawn

Dynamite works great for controlling bermuda grass...
Neighbors seem to frown upon the application, though.

After you get your bermuda going you can keep it out or bed by using a product called "over the top". It will kill the grass and leave your plants in the bed alone. Not as bad as grass as your might think and with "over the top", easily controlled.

Beerhog,

I know I could use the over-the-top products but I try to be as organic as I can be, so I just won't buy the chemical stuff. I am pickier than most people about not using any chemicals on my yard...there are even a lot of organic products, like rotenone, that I won't even use. As a cancer survivor who tries mightily to avoid all the chemical pesticides, herbicides, etc., I just have to live with the bermuda grass, I guess.

Actually, I am slowly eliminating it by removing it and replacing it with mulched shrub and perennial beds. It is a long, slow process though. I'd say that in six years, I've gotten rid of about 40% of the bermuda "lawn" around the house. I have a long way to go.

Dawn

Your best bet is to lay bermuda sod in the areas with the most traffic. Seed is unpredictable and washes away easily. If the area is under a lot of shade, you can do fescue sod. Just be prepared to water it frequently.

I just moved into my home a few years ago and have bermuda in the front yard. I am having trouble keeping the weeds out. Any advise. I put down weed and feed every year, but have patches that have yet to fill in and some uneven areas. I want a uniform, level and thick lawn. I was told that bermuda would do that well. I have yet to see that.

Terri

Want to get rid of your bermuda? Get some moles!!!! Every winter when the birds eat the seed I put out, they drop seed (sunflower,safflower,etc) and these come up every spring along with the moles and their vociferous appetites! They dig all along the sprouted seeds--yard looks like a miniature crosstown expressway! Voila! No bermuda grass. My girls(dogs) then proceed to dig after the moles... LOL

Dawn2

Terri,

Normally a healthy bermuda grass lawn will completely and totally crowd out weeds on its own.

When a bermuda grass lawn is struggling, it is usually either an issue of sunlight or soil health.

Bermuda grass performs best in full sun and will thin out and get patchey in shady areas. If shade is the problem, then bermuda grass may not be your best choice for a turf grass.

If sunlight is adequate and the bermuda grass still fails to thrive, then your soil probably has issues. Consider switching from a chemical program to organics. Your lawn will respond beautifully.

I've linked a previous discussion about maintaining a healthy bermuda grass lawn. OKCDan is our resident lawn expert and he has a simply gorgeous bermuda grass lawn which he maintains organically.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Previous Discussion of Bermuda Grass

I need help. I need an alternative to Bermuda Grass that can grow in zone 8- 9. Does anyone have any recommendations. I don't think there is any blue grass that would grow here, but would like something that resembles it. Let me know if you know of anything. Thanks.

Bisp21,

This is the Oklahoma Gardening forum and all of us are either in zone 6 or zone 7, so probably lack the experience to advise on a lawn grass for zones 8-9.

You might try asking this question at the Lawn Forum, which I've linked below.

Good luck

Here is a link that might be useful: Lawn Forum