Bermuda Grass Care
Things To Know About Bermuda Grass Care
Bermuda grass care in some respects seems to be a meaningless subject. The most popular of the warm season grass types, Bermuda grass is in most instances one of the easiest grass types to maintain. It is popular in lawns, on golf courses, and for play fields. Bermuda grass is generally drought tolerant, and while it can tolerate cold conditions to some extent, it is mainly found in the southern part of the United States. As it does not remain green throughout the year, it is often over seeded with ryegrass, which does. Over-seeding is practiced on golf courses and athletic fields, where year round green grass is desired.
Bermuda grass does require some attention however, though usually not much. But a good Bermuda grass care program will tend to nip problems in the bud, which otherwise might crop up later. As tough as Bermuda grass is, and it is tough, it will give you an even healthier lawn if given a scheduled application of fertilizer. Fertilizing leads the formation of a tightly knit turf, which will better hold in moisture, and will also resist weeds. You may of course pay a bit of a price having a healthy Bermuda grass lawn, as it is a very aggressive plant, and if left unattended, can take over flower beds and otherwise creep into areas where it may not be wanted. It's also a difficult grass to get rid of, so before planting a Bermuda grass lawn, you'll want to be reasonably certain that it is indeed the type of grass you want.
Mowing the grass is of course the best way to keep it under control. You do want to be careful during dry periods, or when the grass is growing slowly, not to mow it too short, as this may encourage weeds to grow. When the grass is actively growing however, it can be mowed quite short, to less than an inch. Some gardeners and homeowners mow Bermuda grass lawns on almost a daily basis when growing it short. The proper length to maintain will depend somewhat upon the variety you're growing.
Watering is not always a major consideration when it comes to Bermuda grass care. Quite often the grass will do quite well from natural rainfall, as long as it occurs at least every couple of weeks. Whenever the grass does receive moisture, it will generally respond well. A regular watering program is usually desired when the grass is being used on a golf course or athletic field, and there is a need for continual, robust growth. This is not always the case with the average home owner's lawn.
The same can be said for diseases, as the grass is very disease resistant. The most common disease encountered by Bermuda grass is pearl scale, which can be very difficult to eradicate. Curiously, pearl scale only seems to infect Bermuda grass that has been planted from sod. Grass planted from seed does not suffer from the disease, for reasons which remain unknown, and infected areas of sodded grass are often over seeded with Bermuda grass to restore it to health.
Fertilizing is another area of Bermuda grass care which is generally not a big deal. Bermuda grass requires less fertilizing than most other lawn grass types. A program of fertilizing is more likely to be needed on an athletic field than on the average home owner's lawn. To sum it all up, most programs for Bermuda grass care are in reality not all that intense. If your lawn is healthy to begin with, your efforts are more likely to be focused on keeping the grass under control, as opposed to keeping it growing.