# Extremely disappointed with Tiff Tuff



## Fiona D (Mar 15, 2021)

Hi all. I just wanted to ask if I'm the only one who is extremely disappointed with Tiff Tuff! It's the most unrewarding turf I have ever owned!! The strange thing is that when I look it up I can only see good things about it (obviously mostly from Tiff Tuff suppliers) 
We moved into our new home at the beginning of November. The sellers had recently put tiff tuff down (who knows what the prep work was like) but when we moved in although it was very long (about +10cm) it looked lovely and green. Our front lawn (pictured) we have been trying to lower the mowing height but can't seem to make it look Ok. Since January we have been mowing it weekly at the same height but it still looks terrible after each mow. It has now even got worse ... the pictures show a lawn that was mown nearly a week ago and in the last week we had about 50mm of rain. Any other turf in Brisbane (Australia) after this rain looks amazing!!! .... except ours!!
Does anybody have Tiff Tuff who could provide some advice? 
We scalped the tiff tuff in our back yard about 3 weeks ago and it's only just starting to look Ok. Is it too late to scalp turf? (We were half considering doing this front lawn but concerned as it doesn't seem to be growing much)
Sorry about the long post and any suggestions would be very much appreciated. 
Thanks


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## Brackin4au (Jun 13, 2018)

Pictures didn't load... is it competing against anything else like weeds/shade/etc? Lowering the height of Bermuda slowly is usually less successful than just scalping it and letting it grow back. Grow back speed depends mostly on temps, the cooler it is getting, the slower it will grow back.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Scalp it as low as you can all at once and collect the clippings. It will look like crap for a few week but if you continue to mow low it will look fantastic. Set your mower to the lowest setting for the scalp then bump it up one notch and start mowing twice a week whether it looks like it needs it or not.

"It has to get ugly before it gets pretty."


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

Tiftuf scalps bad. Cut it as low as possible, then stay on top of cutting it, 2-3 times a week.


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## Fiona D (Mar 15, 2021)




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## Fiona D (Mar 15, 2021)

Have just attached the pictures of the lawn. No it's not really competing with weeds. It does have a bit of shade in the morning but it definitely gets the recommended minimum amount of sun. And on that does anybody have trees on their tiff tuff or is it more of a sports field grass where there shouldn't be any trees around. 
Thanks everyone for your suggestions and recommendations. 
We live in Brisbane current temps are 26-39C high 18C lows. Is it too late to scalp?
Many thanks again


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## corneliani (Apr 2, 2019)

Mine is leggy, but I'm assuming it's due to the shade (and horrible soil that I'm still working on!). But the color can definitely be there, esp at the higher HOC. Your issue does seem to be a scalping one.. might as well rip off the bandaid and scalp it down all at once. As to whether it's too late or not, think of it as far as how long into the growing season you are. Once you're past the halfway point (and probably more like 3/4) the argument to scalp is getting weaker, only because by the time it recovers your season is coming to an end.


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## Jack2012 (Jan 31, 2021)

I'm in Aus also and have Tiftuf. I found it frustrating initially but have since worked out a couple about it. 1 - don't apply much N. Keep N treatments low or it will thatch up really quickly. 2. It seems to like reg dethatching/verticutting.


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## Fiona D (Mar 15, 2021)

Thabks for your replies everyone! Corneliani your garden looks amazing!!
Thanks Jack2012 great to know those tips!!


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

It's not the grass, but more your cultural practice.

Scalp it down, as you have, and like other suggestions, maintain the height taller then the scalp. You appear to be cutting it the same height as you scalped down, thus no improvement of the crown of the turf.


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## bwhitaker (Apr 11, 2019)

Are you using a rotary mower?

Tiftuff is a shade/drought improved cultivar of tifway which is a full sun hybrid Bermuda. The 2 are very similar in many ways but tiftuff does better in yards due to more trees and less inputs.

If you've set your mower lower and left it there you'll have some of the old growth remain for a while, scalping lower and then moving back up will help this, but you can also leave it at a height and eventually it will also be all green. Much of this is that the old brown shoots will go away on their own it's just that it takes longer.

Also moving into fall temps aren't the issue, once the days begin getting shorter it triggers the plant to stop spreading/growing as much and start storing for the winter. This is pretty much inevitable, so you may want to wait until spring and then go back out and start trying to scalp again(as the faster growing will work for you).

If you have a reel mower I would set it down to 13mm or so.


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## Sbcgenii (May 13, 2018)

What height did you scalp at and what is your maintenance height? You should be cutting it twice a week too.


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## Fiona D (Mar 15, 2021)

Thanks fatcity!!


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Looks drought stressed and poorly cared for. What do your soil samples say it needs?


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

I just skimmed through this thread and noticed people were recommending scalping the lawn. Just FYI, it is FALL in Australia so I am not sure how much longer the OP's growing season is down under but you might want to take that into consideration with giving advice.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

Mightyquinn said:


> I just skimmed through this thread and noticed people were recommending scalping the lawn. Just FYI, it is FALL in Australia so I am not sure how much longer the OP's growing season is down under but you might want to take that into consideration with giving advice.


If you read my reply, I mentioned just the same, in that the OP has already scalped, or was in the process of doing so, and to raise it up to stop it.

I've had Tiftuf for a little while and it's easy to scalp when you lose it or go too far like the OP did. They've likely got time to recover and maintain, considering the time of year and climate.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

FATC1TY said:


> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> > I just skimmed through this thread and noticed people were recommending scalping the lawn. Just FYI, it is FALL in Australia so I am not sure how much longer the OP's growing season is down under but you might want to take that into consideration with giving advice.
> ...


Good to hear :thumbup: Like I said, I was just skimming and didn't intend to step on anyone's toes.


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