Need some advice on maintaining bermuda/rye lawn in Phoenix area

Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede, Bahia, Paspalum, etc
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bsoder
Posts: 1
Joined: May 16th, 2019, 2:24 pm
Location: Mesa, AZ
Grass Type: Bermuda/Rye
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Need some advice on maintaining bermuda/rye lawn in Phoenix area

Post by bsoder » May 16th, 2019, 7:46 pm

I have lived in the same place for the past twenty years, and for most of that time I've had someone doing my lawn. Due to a variety of factors (wanting to get some more exercise, not thrilled with the ongoing results from my lawn guy (declining quality of work over time), etc.) I've decided to stop paying for lawn care and do it myself. One of the main issues I had was that the lawn guy wasn't doing a particularly good job with weed control and fertilizing, so that's my primary focus at the moment.

The main weed I'm dealing with is bur clover (see pic) and from what I'm reading, the right herbicides to use for this are Mecoprop (MCPP) and Dicamba. I haven't found any products that have just these and not 2,4-D, which it sounds like is mildly bad for bermuda, but it seems like everything has all three chemicals so that's pretty much the only choice?

My main question has to do with timing - it's currently time to switch over from rye to bermuda - the rye is dying off now. Can I apply the herbicide to get rid of the bur clover now, as the rye is dying and the bermuda is just starting to wake up, or do I need to wait until the bermuda is up and green before I do it? If I wait, the high temps will be regularly over 100 which is higher than the recommended application temp range, but if I do it early in the morning it would be ok?

I've read the guide at https://aroundtheyard.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=117 and it's very helpful - I think the lack of nitrogen is the main deficiency right now. I'm thinking perhaps I should fertilize now, let the grass grow for a few weeks, then hit the clover once the grass is growing well? I am planning on using milorganite.

Finally, is there a separate guide that talks about managing a lawn where you're switching to rye over the winter? Wondering about applying a pre emergent (isoxaben? Something different?) in the fall to keep the clover from returning next year. The guide above doesn't mention that, hopefully there's more suggestions out there.

I'm kinda excited about this, guess that means I turned into my Dad after all. :)


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Dchall_San_Antonio
Posts: 3341
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Advanced

Re: Need some advice on maintaining bermuda/rye lawn in Phoenix area

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » May 20th, 2019, 11:15 am

Overseeding with rye is seriously not recommended. You are experiencing the very issues that make this practice inappropriate. Your bermuda should have awoken 6-8 weeks ago, but the rye has delayed the process. Now you are dealing with the consequences.

Can we assume you have common, seeded type, bermuda in full sun? ...as opposed to a hybrid like TIFF 419? If you have a hybrid I believe there are concerns with using the proper herbicide, especially in the heat.

I would treat for the clover by spot spraying with something like Weed-b-Gon suitable for bermuda. March or early April would have been a better time to do that, so make a note for next year.

What is your watering schedule? How often and for how long do you water? I have a friend in Gilbert with St Augustine lawn. He waters about once a week until the temps get above 100 degrees. Then he goes to once every 5 days up to 115 degrees.

What is your fertilizer plan? Bermuda can take a high N fertilizer every month of the growing season without any trouble at all. But if you are not shooting for 'lawn of the month' you probably don't need to do that.

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