Side cut picture of Patriot Bermuda at 2"

[Abyss]

Still kind of new to the whole Bermuda game and trying to figure things out. Here's a side cut pic of it at current hoc of 2". I wasn't initially going to do the strip, but had extra sod and just threw it over the soil that was already at the sidewalk height. (You can see the soil above the curb)

ImageUploadedByYard Help1474668371.725199.jpg

I'm not using a growth regulator, and had about a week that I couldn't get to the grass twice this year. The result was me raising the hoc each time, one because using a manual reel to try and cut it is no fun, and I didn't want to scalp it. I'm learning now that I probably should of scalped it the first time, it had time to recover still.

So right now I'm cutting at 2". What would be the negatives of cutting a hybrid Bermuda that high? It seems nice and thick, taller then I would typically like to maintain, but coming from the northern grass world it is pretty nice to look at (except the brown under the canopy which you don't see unless you push the canopy out of the way)

Part of the other problem I found is that the reel only drops to 1/2", so if it gets any higher, and I want to still maintain at 1/2" and cut it down to that, it keeps rescalping at 1/2". I'm looking at getting one of these over the winter to solve that problem:
http://www.hudsonstar.com/classic-cut

Overall, it's been fun figuring out this Bermuda thing, hoping things go well over the winter and it can be a new found grass for me





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[tellycoleman]

Nice show me more pictures.
Trying to decide the type of bermuda to get
do you use a rotary mower?
It gets alot colder in PHilly then where im at
when does yours go dormant

[fp_911]

I'm keeping mine at about 2 inches myself because of the slight dips and bumps I have in my yard. You can't really see them but when I mow the lawn there are crop circles everywhere so I'm forced to mow high.

Mine ends up just like yours where it is very plush and tight so I don't see any negative effects with mowing it this high. I know generally Bermuda grows better shorter but I really don't have a choice and so far it's been working relatively well for me.

[ajmikola]

Bermuda lives best at a short height. Look at some of the experienced members warm season lawns like mightyquinn and redtenchu. The keep their grass less than 1", sometimes less than 1/2". It looks amazing.
There is a reason golf courses cut thier greens so short.
When trained correctly, bermuda spreads wide and thick. At a high HOC it gets tall and leggy (and brown under the canopy)

I'm far from where i want to be, but here is mine at 1"

ImageUploadedByYard Help1474849816.354391.jpg

[ajmikola]

I cut with a reel.
Also, with fall fast approaching keeping it high will create good insulation for the winter, so now isnt the time to bring it down.

[Billy]

There is a reason golf courses cut thier greens so short.

Height of cut (HOC) OM golf courses is determined by the desired use for the area, not necessarily the health. Putting greens are closely mowed because they need a ball to roll on it. Tees and fairways are closely mowed because the game requires them to be.

When golf course superintendents maintain something for purely turf health (where game demands aren't trying to stress it out), look at the toughs and clubhouse lawns. For most bermudagrass cultivars, these are maintained at 2-3".

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[ajmikola]

There is a reason golf courses cut thier greens so short.

Height of cut (HOC) OM golf courses is determined by the desired use for the area, not necessarily the health. Putting greens are closely mowed because they need a ball to roll on it. Tees and fairways are closely mowed because the game requires them to be.

When golf course superintendents maintain something for purely turf health (where game demands aren't trying to stress it out), look at the toughs and clubhouse lawns. For most bermudagrass cultivars, these are maintained at 2-3".

[ Post made via iPhone ]

So you're saying bermuda isnt at its best when its short? Because that is not the consensus of this forum.

[MarkV]

There is a reason golf courses cut thier greens so short.

Height of cut (HOC) OM golf courses is determined by the desired use for the area, not necessarily the health. Putting greens are closely mowed because they need a ball to roll on it. Tees and fairways are closely mowed because the game requires them to be.

When golf course superintendents maintain something for purely turf health (where game demands aren't trying to stress it out), look at the toughs and clubhouse lawns. For most bermudagrass cultivars, these are maintained at 2-3".

[ Post made via iPhone ]

So you're saying bermuda isnt at its best when its short? Because that is not the consensus of this forum.

Granted I'm reading into Billy's words here. I think that Billy is saying that when golf courses are looking out for bermuda health they keep it at 2-3". But when the golf ball is at play they keep it much shorter.

That is not what I've read as to how to keep bermuda.

[ajmikola]

This is ware's lawn. Hoc is 5/8". Please post a pic of a bermuda lawn at 2-3" that looks better than this.
When bermuda is cut short you train it to grow horizontally, this equals stronger and thicker grass.

ImageUploadedByYard Help1474928602.820237.jpg

[Spammage]

I think you guys are reading to much into what Billy is saying. The OVERALL HEALTH of the grass is better when kept a little taller. Meaning, it will be more tolerant to drought, insect, disease, etc. This is NOT the same thing as looking the best and certainly not "playing" the best.

[Billy]

Granted I'm reading into Billy's words here. I think that Billy is saying that when golf courses are looking out for bermuda health they keep it at 2-3". But when the golf ball is at play they keep it much shorter.

I think you guys are reading to much into what Billy is saying. The OVERALL HEALTH of the grass is better when kept a little taller. Meaning, it will be more tolerant to drought, insect, disease, etc. This is NOT the same thing as looking the best and certainly not "playing" the best.

You guys are close. Most bermudagrass cultivars perform best (best color, best pest resistance, best drought resistance) when maintained between 1.5-2.5" tall. This is when you get the best performance from the turf.

It can be maintained at a lower HOC, but it's more stressful to the turf and requires most inputs to keep it looking the way you want. When bermudagrass is managed for looks alone and the ability to roll a golf ball across isn't needed (like the golf course roughs and clubhouse lawns), it's managed in the neighborhood of 2". If it needs to be kept lower for play (fairways, tees, greens), it can be done, but it will be under more stress and require more inputs to keep it looking nice.

If you want to have a healthy bermudagrass that looks its best, mowing between 1.5-2.5" is the way to go. If you want to stress your turf and require more inputs to get the same look, you can mow lower. It's just a choice and it's all about your tolerances.

[ajmikola]

Granted I'm reading into Billy's words here. I think that Billy is saying that when golf courses are looking out for bermuda health they keep it at 2-3". But when the golf ball is at play they keep it much shorter.

I think you guys are reading to much into what Billy is saying. The OVERALL HEALTH of the grass is better when kept a little taller. Meaning, it will be more tolerant to drought, insect, disease, etc. This is NOT the same thing as looking the best and certainly not "playing" the best.

You guys are close. Most bermudagrass cultivars perform best (best color, best pest resistance, best drought resistance) when maintained between 1.5-2.5" tall. This is when you get the best performance from the turf.

It can be maintained at a lower HOC, but it's more stressful to the turf and requires most inputs to keep it looking the way you want. When bermudagrass is managed for looks alone and the ability to roll a golf ball across isn't needed (like the golf course roughs and clubhouse lawns), it's managed in the neighborhood of 2". If it needs to be kept lower for play (fairways, tees, greens), it can be done, but it will be under more stress and require more inputs to keep it looking nice.

If you want to have a healthy bermudagrass that looks its best, mowing between 1.5-2.5" is the way to go. If you want to stress your turf and require more inputs to get the same look, you can mow lower. It's just a choice and it's all about your tolerances.

I'm not trying to be an a$$ or anything like that, i'm certainly no expert, not even close.

I just want someone to post a pic of 2.5" bermuda grass and say it looks better than the pic i posted of wares yard.

There is a reason we are all trying to get greens mowers or reel mowers in the south, because the HOC goes < 1".

If wares yard looks stressed than i want a stressed yard.... Just sayin.

[Begotten]

This is ware's lawn. Hoc is 5/8". Please post a pic of a bermuda lawn at 2-3" that looks better than this.
When bermuda is cut short you train it to grow horizontally, this equals stronger and thicker grass.

ImageUploadedByYard Help1474928602.820237.jpg

[Billy]

Not sure how to post pictures. Maybe I'll learn sometime. In the meantime, did you see the rough at the Tour Championship this past weekend? How about the clubhouse grounds? That bermudagrass looked absolutely perfect. It was mowed at 2.25".

It looks like you're getting hung up on the "stressed" part. I'm not saying that your turf will always look bad if mowed lower. What I *am* saying is that it will require more inputs (water, fertilizer, mowing, etc) to look the same as turf mowed higher and it will take longer to recover from stress (drought, insect injury, disease injury, scalping) than it would have if it were mowed higher. Depending on the cultivar, it could look less dense when mowed lower.

You can make the low cut look just as good as the high cut, but it's going to take more resources to do it.

Why are you guys trying to get greens mowers? Beats me. Work harder, not smarter, I guess.

[ajmikola]

Its very easy to post a picture.
At any rate....

I'll continue to show proof that shorter is better. Because at the end of the day you can say whatever, but i think everyone wants to see pictures of grass. I know i would.

Here is my neighbors yard: i'm going to guess 2" or higher

ImageUploadedByYard Help1474936688.589831.jpg

Please note how my foot sinks in and the grass looks very leggy, thin and weak. And PLEASE note she uses a "lawn company"

Now here is mine:
Cut under 1" with a reel mower.

Which one, billy, in your opinion, looks better, stronger and healthier?

ImageUploadedByYard Help1474936808.901083.jpg

[ajmikola]

And please forgive my big ugly foot, it is to prove a point.

[SimonR]

It is all about what you want from your lawn. There is nothing wrong with keeping it higher if you want as there will be less overall maintenance and inputs. I think we can all agree on that. That being said I find it much harder to keep a nice after cut appearance when the lawn is taller as it is much more prone to scalping.

This is mainly due to the grass becoming spongey and the mower more prone to sinking and gouging the canopy. The amount of brown under growth is much more apparent in taller bermuda which excerbates the scalping problem.

I prefer the green concrete look but each to their own.

[ Post made via Android ]

[ajmikola]

And just for s&g's here is rentenchu's lawn. Amazing looking bermuda.


Cut at 0.375 inches......with a greens mower.

ImageUploadedByYard Help1474947233.827564.jpg

[Abyss]

Its very easy to post a picture.
At any rate....

I'll continue to show proof that shorter is better. Because at the end of the day you can say whatever, but i think everyone wants to see pictures of grass. I know i would.

Here is my neighbors yard: i'm going to guess 2" or higher

ImageUploadedByYard Help1474936688.589831.jpg

Please note how my foot sinks in and the grass looks very leggy, thin and weak. And PLEASE note she uses a "lawn company"

Now here is mine:
Cut under 1" with a reel mower.

Which one, billy, in your opinion, looks better, stronger and healthier?

ImageUploadedByYard Help1474936808.901083.jpg

I'm going to assume your neighbor doesn't put as many resources into his lawn. Here's my lawn at 2". I think what he is trying to say is that to maintain a lower lawn, it is going to need more water, fertilizer etc to be able to maintain it at that hoc, not to mention for the most part having to cut it more often. Here is my lawn at 2" for reference:

ImageUploadedByYard Help1475017012.088394.jpg

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[Abyss]

Nice show me more pictures.
Trying to decide the type of bermuda to get
do you use a rotary mower?
It gets alot colder in PHilly then where im at
when does yours go dormant

Not sure when it's going to go dormant, it's definitely slowed down its growth though, but hey, it's almost the end of September and we've been getting nights in the mid 50's. It's my first year with it, I sodded in mid May, they wouldn't cut the sod before then in delmar md.

Here's a couple pictures, had to trick the camera to try to show color, it was making it lighter then what the color actually is, only thing I've done is cut it and put Scott's max on it.

ImageUploadedByYard Help1475018259.824227.jpg

ImageUploadedByYard Help1475018283.459782.jpg

This one shows the color:

ImageUploadedByYard Help1475018298.326864.jpg

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