Bermuda lawn, lots of dandelions

Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede, Bahia, Paspalum, etc
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kmcdok
Posts: 2
Joined: May 29th, 2021, 12:05 pm
Location: Tulsa, OK
Grass Type: Bermuda
Lawn Size: Not Specified
Level: Not Specified

Bermuda lawn, lots of dandelions

Post by kmcdok » June 1st, 2021, 8:04 am

I have a lawn that is 30-40% weeds - tons of dandelions with chickweed and crabgrass. The primary grass is mostly bermuda. What's the best method to kill off these weeds? There are a few areas that are probably 95% dandelions. I'm thinking I need to seed those areas, but when/how to do that in combination with killing off the weeds?

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: Bermuda lawn, lots of dandelions

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » June 12th, 2021, 9:03 pm

It seems like most people who want to seed into bermuda are trying to grow it in the shade. Somewhere there is a building, a tree or other plant, a fence, or something casting shade into the area. Adding seed will not help...at all. Oh, you might get the seed to germinate and give you a (false) sense of having accomplished something, but the new grass will die out soon enough. It would be better to mark off those areas and plant some shade loving ground cover or shade loving flowering plants. I am facing a similar situation at a house we just bought. I think she neglected to fertilize, so I'm going to toss a ton of organics on the lawn and see how it looks later in the year. Mine is the shade tolerant St Augustine, though, so I have a small chance of winning. If it was bermuda I would be doing what I suggested. But IF you have a full sun situation, then you can scatter bermuda seed. Now is the time of year to do that.

As for the weeds, I'm wondering why you have weeds in the first place. Well, thin bermuda opens things up for weeds, and I'm guessing you watered many times a week trying to get the bermuda to spread (am I right?).

Check the Interwebs to read the label on a product called Weed-b-Gon. If you have temps low enough to apply right now, then go ahead and spray some of that onto the dandelions. Forget about spraying on the chickweed and crabgrass, because it will not do anything. Stick to the dandelions areas. Weed-b-Gon is a leaf wetting type of product, not a soil drench. One quick pass over the dandelions is all it takes. It might take a week or two to see them all die out, but it should work if the temps are okay.

So if your yard has become much more shaded than it was when the bermuda first went in, you might consider changing to a more shade tolerant turf. I don't think St Augustine would be great in Tulsa, but you might get away with a turf type tall fescue. Nothing else in the general lawn category fits. After normal lawns you get into alternatives like Monkey grass or something like a spreading ground cover.

User avatar
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: Bermuda lawn, lots of dandelions

Post by Dchall_San_Antonio » June 12th, 2021, 9:14 pm

Okay I just read your other msg about your being a novice with lawn care. Please take a few pictures of the yard from a few angles and post them here. Take one from across the street, too. The best yard pictures are taken under the clouds, so if you can arrange for that, it would be best. :)

So let's start over. We can set you up with a mini class in lawn care for beginners. We know you live in Tulsa and have bermuda.
  1. What is your watering schedule?
  2. How often and for how long do you water?
  3. How high/low do you mow and how often?
  4. Have you fertilized this year and what did you use?
  5. Have you used any herbicide, insecticide, or any other -icides this year?

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