Variety of bermuda in my yard?

Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede, Bahia, Paspalum, etc
Post Reply
cdorhauer
Posts: 3
Joined: April 29th, 2017, 4:01 pm
Location: Aubrey, TX
Grass Type: Bermuda
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Variety of bermuda in my yard?

Post by cdorhauer » April 29th, 2017, 4:25 pm

A bit of information about my lawn before getting started.

Water: 1 inch once a week.

Location: North Texas (Aubrey, TX)

Cut: Reel mower at 1.5 inches once a week (for now)

Fertilize and weed: Schedule followed on Bermuda Bible

Soil: Hard clay (with minimal sand put down by landscapers to level the remaining yard)

Additional: Lawn is really uneven due to poor application of sod by landscapers. (irrelevant to my situation, I think)

I'm currently working on my bermuda lawn by following the Bermuda Bible. I'm having success and do have one of the better lawns in our new neighborhood. However I am a little puzzled with the fact that I think might have two different types of bermuda in my yard (sodded Sept 2016).

There is a 50 sqft area in my back yard that is really short (almost golf course quality) that is VERY green and stays low to the ground. Compared to the rest of my lawn, it never grows to a height that gets caught by my reel mower (1.5 inch setting). It's almost growing like carpet. I would compare its length to the light rough on a golf course. The rest of my lawn, unfortunately, not like that little area.

I have pulled some of the stolons out and included the pictures below for comparison. The sample on the right is from the low growing "carpet-like" area in my backyard. The sample on the left is the long stringy stolon that is found around the rest of my yard. I have also included close-ups of each sample.

I guess my questions are: Are these different types of Bermuda? If not, what am I doing wrong if the rest of my yard is not like this? If yes, then how would I be able to "convert" the rest of my yard to the lower growing type of bermuda that is in my back yard?


Image

Image

Image

Any help is greatly appreciated!

tellycoleman
Posts: 48
Joined: August 31st, 2016, 11:37 pm
Location: Smyrna TN
Grass Type: bermuda 419
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Variety of bermuda in my yard?

Post by tellycoleman » April 29th, 2017, 6:14 pm

What type of Bermuda does it supposed to be?

cdorhauer
Posts: 3
Joined: April 29th, 2017, 4:01 pm
Location: Aubrey, TX
Grass Type: Bermuda
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Variety of bermuda in my yard?

Post by cdorhauer » May 5th, 2017, 8:11 pm

tellycoleman wrote:
April 29th, 2017, 6:14 pm
What type of Bermuda does it supposed to be?
I'm not sure. The builders just laid down the sod. I would assume most of it is just common bermuda.

gardenpants
Posts: 140
Joined: September 15th, 2016, 5:16 pm
Location: Dallas, TX
Grass Type: Southern mix
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Variety of bermuda in my yard?

Post by gardenpants » May 5th, 2017, 11:59 pm

What shape is the area that has the lower growing Bermuda? If it's clearly rectangular, that's a good sign they may have laid a strip of a different variety.

Have you noticed seed heads and do they look different? More vs fewer/none, or higher vs lower seed stalks between the two areas?

cdorhauer
Posts: 3
Joined: April 29th, 2017, 4:01 pm
Location: Aubrey, TX
Grass Type: Bermuda
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Variety of bermuda in my yard?

Post by cdorhauer » May 7th, 2017, 12:23 pm

gardenpants, Thanks for your reply. I can't say for certain that it has an distinct shape. But I can say that they have not produced nearly as many seed heads as the rest of my lawn. It's not even close. I am assuming it is some type of hybrid that just got mixed in with the rest.


tellycoleman
Posts: 48
Joined: August 31st, 2016, 11:37 pm
Location: Smyrna TN
Grass Type: bermuda 419
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Variety of bermuda in my yard?

Post by tellycoleman » May 8th, 2017, 10:28 am

The internodes are definatly different. Are both samples in the picture from the same general area?
An area with more shade can produce longer leggy internodes.
Is one area over a septic tank drain field?
Do you cut everything at the same height?
If all else fails and you really want to know you can send a sample in to your co-op or agriculture center/University.
Definitely looks different if all other factors are equal.
But I am also a newbie so take my advice for what its worth

gardenpants
Posts: 140
Joined: September 15th, 2016, 5:16 pm
Location: Dallas, TX
Grass Type: Southern mix
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: Variety of bermuda in my yard?

Post by gardenpants » May 8th, 2017, 3:09 pm

From what I understand, the most obvious differences between common and hybrid bermuda are that 1) hybrid tends to have a darker green color, and 2) hybrid has fewer seed heads. From what you've told us and from the photos (short vs long internodes), it does seem to me that you have some hybrid mixed in with your common.

I'd wait for more experienced members to reply, but it may be possible to somewhat blend out the look of your lawn by overseeding it with one of the newer "turf type" seeded varieties of bermuda, like Princess 77. P77 has a look that is close to the look of the hybrid sodded varieties. This won't eliminate the common bermuda, just give it more of a hybrid look.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests