New to Bermuda

Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede, Bahia, Paspalum, etc
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brizzyintx2
Posts: 5
Joined: August 15th, 2019, 1:14 pm
Location: DFW
Grass Type: Bermuda/St. A. Mix
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

New to Bermuda

Post by brizzyintx2 » August 15th, 2019, 2:21 pm

I'll skip all the boring details on my background with St. A. But I like to think I was pretty knowledgeable back in the day, about 10 years ago. (You can see a few pics if you search my former username - brizzyintx.)

After losing interest in lawn care due to... life... Then moving back to Michigan for three years... I'm back in DFW with a new house and a new lawn. (And a new life, but that's a whole other story.)

My new lawn is much bigger than the previous one. The back yard is almost all full sun, so mostly Bermuda. There is a lot of St. A in one spot, but it's under where a tree used to be that fell in a storm a couple months ago. I don't want to do a full reno this year, but would like to see some improvements. I'm thinking for the remainder of the year I'll mow short, water just enough to keep the Bermuda healthy, then fertilize the Bermuda well once temps drop. Hopefully it will start creeping into the St. A. before it goes dormant for the winter.

The side yard/left side of driveway is also full sun, but primarily St. A. Minimal weeds. Minimal Bermuda. But it just does not look healthy. I'm really not sure what to do with this. I think I'm just going to exercise some good cultural practices and see what happens. (Mow high, mulch, water and fertilize as appropriate.)

The right side of the driveway is small, and mostly shaded. And mostly dirt. Minimal Bermuda in the part that receives sun. But it's very sparse and sickly. I think is going to need some resodding. I've done it before and had good luck with common SA in shade. (see aforemientioned pics.) So I think this option is best. Especially since it will give continuity with the SA on the left/side I'm going to try and revive.

Thoughts?

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gtnike
Posts: 998
Joined: September 21st, 2009, 6:02 pm
Location: Smyrna Tennessee
Grass Type: Meyer Zoysia, TTTF in the shade
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: New to Bermuda

Post by gtnike » August 28th, 2019, 10:33 pm

My dad has SA but I'm not familiar with it. You think it will look good growing alongside Bermuda?

brizzyintx2
Posts: 5
Joined: August 15th, 2019, 1:14 pm
Location: DFW
Grass Type: Bermuda/St. A. Mix
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: New to Bermuda

Post by brizzyintx2 » September 3rd, 2019, 7:31 pm

gtnike wrote:
August 28th, 2019, 10:33 pm
My dad has SA but I'm not familiar with it. You think it will look good growing alongside Bermuda?
They are quite different. But fortunately the front and side, which will be SA, are separated from the Bermuda back by a privacy fence.

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Dchall_San_Antonio
Posts: 3339
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Advanced

Re: New to Bermuda

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » February 12th, 2020, 5:49 pm

I missed this post in my sporadic returns to AroundTheYard. Bermuda and St Aug take different care. Bermuda can be fertilized heavily every month of the growing season. It especially loves to be fed in the hottest summer heat, so don't hold back. It also loves to be mowed at the mower's lowest setting. St Augustine, on the other hand, should be mowed at the mower's highest setting and fertilized only in May, Sept, and November. I got a new EGO mower last season which makes adjusting the mowing height easy. I think most modern mowers have easy adjusters. My St Augustine has not quite fully filled in, so I mow the weedy area at the lowest setting and the real grass at the highest. There is a very distinct ridge, but I'm not in any competitions here. I'm just keeping it green and weeds down.

So you should have a shady type of St Augustine in the shady areas of the lawn. Floratam is NOT a shady type of St Aug. It becomes extremely dense in full sun and fairly thin in the shade. Seville is a nice variety for shade. It has a much finer blade texture than the rest of the St Augustines and is fairly disease tolerant/resistant. Avoid Palmetto and Sapphire as you will be treating for disease all the time.

CCtexas
Posts: 10
Joined: April 30th, 2018, 9:41 am
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine in front, Bermuda in back
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Re: New to Bermuda

Post by CCtexas » February 17th, 2020, 2:46 pm

So, you would only fertilize St Augustine in May, Sept, & Nov when you are using cornmeal or alfalfa pellets? I'm in coastal Texas--Corpus with St Augustine in front yard (west exposure) and Bermuda with some St Aug in backyard (east exposure) and I am about to put cornmeal on both. It needs mowing right now. Should we wait to put down the cm? Thanks


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Dchall_San_Antonio
Posts: 3339
Joined: December 17th, 2008, 1:53 am
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Grass Type: St Augustine
Lawn Size: 5000-10000
Level: Advanced

Re: New to Bermuda

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » March 19th, 2020, 1:23 am

CCtexas, you should not "need" fertilizer right now for St Augustine. The bermuda can use fertilizer any time after you mow the bermuda (not the weeds) for the second time. Waiting ensures the roots have awakened and can take up the nutrients. I'm a month late so you are very likely already mowing. I just mowed my St Aug for the first time and weeds for the second time.

The St Augustine will absolutely dominate your back lawn if you don't do something to stop it. Bermuda is no match for SA if you mow it high. If you mow it low, the SA will still move in, but it just looks weedy. Mowing high stops the weedy look and speeds up the SA takeover.

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