# Question: Is all "common" Bermuda the same stuff?



## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

As the thread title states, my question is, is all "common" Bermuda the exact same strain? I ask this question because my lawn is common Bermuda. I have a mostly bare area of a little less than 300 square feet in my front yard and when I went to the seed company in my town (Johnston Seed) I bought seed, which I was told, was "common Bermuda". The tech/sales rep told me that all "common" Bermuda comes from Arizona and it's all the same.

Anyway, I laid down the purchased seed today and I am hoping and praying this guy is right, that "all" common Bermuda is the same and the new stuff will blend right in with the old.

Anyone smart enough on common Bermuda to answer?

Thanks in advance.


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## smurg (May 30, 2018)

There's tons of different cultivars. I wouldn't put down what they sold you if they fed you that line.

Princess 77 has been a solid improved common seeded variety for a long time. It was recently 'improved' and is sold as Arden 15 as their latest cultivar.


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## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

smurg said:


> There's tons of different cultivars. I wouldn't put down what they sold you if they fed you that line.
> 
> Princess 77 has been a solid improved common seeded variety for a long time. It was recently 'improved' and is sold as Arden 15 as their latest cultivar.


So is Princess 77 considered a "common" Bermuda or now that's its been genetically improved is it now considered a hybrid Bermuda? I know that there are indeed tons of "hybrid" Bermudas out there now but it was my impression, according to what this seed company told me, is there is only one kind of "common" Bermuda seed, ie, that "all" Bermuda seed that is "common" is all the same stuff.

If this stuff I bought is indeed different and won't blend in I am going to be :evil: !


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## Topcat (Mar 21, 2017)

I've seen Bermuda seed where the label listed it as "Common". And I've seen the others Gold Glove, Yukon, Sahara, etc. I am of the belief that all those are considered by some as common varieties. With that in mind I would not put any "Common" seed Bermuda on an existing lawn for the fear of it not matching what is already there.

Others can chime in and correct me as I am not sure I am right.


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## bp2878 (Feb 13, 2019)

You should plug from thicker areas and let in fill in instead of seed. It will match for sure then.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Technically, all seeded varieties are common, but there is "regular" common for lack of a better term (probably what you bought) and then there are "improved" varieties of common, which would be all the ones with fancy names. I think you got the regular old common, and should be fine. But plugging would have been free, and faster.


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## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

bp2878 said:


> You should plug from thicker areas and let in fill in instead of seed. It will match for sure then.


I actually did use 4 large plugs, each about 6-8" across (so maybe technically those would not be considered plugs due to their size, haha!) replanted in a square pattern to encourage regrowth in that area. Did that on August 29th last year and they spread practically nowhere. Granted, that is pretty late in the growing season and my city had virtually no Spring followed by unusually cool temps and TONS of rain up until about 2-3 weeks ago. I confess I never considered numerous smaller plugs. Maybe I should have but the seed is down now.



ktgrok said:


> Technically, all seeded varieties are common, but there is "regular" common for lack of a better term (probably what you bought) and then there are "improved" varieties of common, which would be all the ones with fancy names. I think you got the regular old common, and should be fine. But plugging would have been free, and faster.


I'm going to go back to the seed company tomorrow morning and talk to the sales guy to see if I can get more info.

I welcome additional comments. Someone on this forum knows the definitive answer.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Twister said:


> As the thread title states, my question is, is all "common" Bermuda the exact same strain? I ask this question because my lawn is common Bermuda. I have a mostly bare area of a little less than 300 square feet in my front yard and when I went to the seed company in my town (Johnston Seed) I bought seed, which I was told, was "common Bermuda". The tech/sales rep told me that all "common" Bermuda comes from Arizona and it's all the same.
> 
> Anyway, I laid down the purchased seed today and I am hoping and praying this guy is right, that "all" common Bermuda is the same and the new stuff will blend right in with the old.
> 
> ...


Arizona Common does not only come from Arizona, but it is a recognized variety. There are a number of improved varieties that approach the low growth habit and darker green color of the hybrids such as Blackjack, LaPrima, Maya, Riviera, Yukon. To name a few. Arden 15 is an actual hybrid where the variety is created by cross pollination in the production field. Having said that, I would use anything labeled as "Arizona Common" with confidence that it would match most common Bermuda plantings. The named varieties above probably would not match.


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## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

Greendoc said:


> [quote .... There are a number of improved varieties that approach the low growth habit and darker green color of the hybrids such as Blackjack, LaPrima, Maya, Riviera, Yukon.


Ok, so an ignorant question here, Greendoc: Are you saying that Blackjack, LaPrima, Maya, Riviera and Yukon are all considered "_common_" Bermuda grasses???

I am guessing you will say "Yes", and if that is so, then what is the defining characteristic of Bermuda grasses that are classified as "common"? What makes Common Bermuda grass "common"?


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Yes. However, you can tell you are getting Arizona Common via the price. Those named varieties cost way more than Arizona Common.


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## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

Greendoc -

Price: The seed I bought was about $35 for a 5 lb bag of hulled and coated seeds. Is that anywhere in the ballpark of the varieties you named above?

Taxonomy: Then what is the defining characteristic of Bermuda grasses that are classified as "common"? What makes Common Bermuda grass "common"? <--- Sorry for the repeat question but I think I was editing my last post as you were answering.


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

$35 for 5 lb is not the named improved varieties. I once bought 2 lb of LaPrima XD. That was $40 for 2 lb.


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

Generally common Bermuda can be grown by seed and hybrid Bermuda the seeds are sterile.

My 25# bag of Riviera was $300 + tax straight from the grower.

To answer your question "is all common the same stuff" *absolutely not*.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Common means it is the kind that grows by seed. Improved common is what they call things like Yukon, Princess 77, Riviera, etc etc....same plant, but bred over generations to have certain qualities. Hybrid bermuda no longer can be grown by seed and is genetically different.

The place you got your seed form sells "Arizona Common" which is the parent plant, the basic normal common variety, and it sounds like that is what you got.


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## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

J_nick said:


> Generally common Bermuda can be grown by seed and hybrid Bermuda the seeds are sterile.
> 
> My 25# bag of Riviera was $300 + tax straight from the grower.
> 
> To answer your question "is all common the same stuff" *absolutely not*.


J_nick - Thank you so much for the clarification, Love the *BOLD* type, haha! My mistake was in assuming that any genetically _un_-altered seed was "common" and any genetically altered/modified seed was a hybrid. As I did some research online last night I was starting to sense I was wrong.



ktgrok said:


> Common means it is the kind that grows by seed. Improved common is what they call things like Yukon, Princess 77, Riviera, etc etc....same plant, but bred over generations to have certain qualities. Hybrid bermuda no longer can be grown by seed and is genetically different.
> 
> The place you got your seed form sells "Arizona Common" which is the parent plant, the basic normal common variety, and it sounds like that is what you got.


Re: "common", "improved common" and "hybrid".....yep, makes sense now. Starting to feel much more confident I have regular/generic/UN-improved Common. Question: Where on Johnston's Seed website did you find anything that said, specifically, "Arizona Common"? When I looked on their site all I could see was "Common" with variations in the seed being hulled or coated. Not a big deal, just curious.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

J_nick said:


> Generally common Bermuda can be grown by seed and hybrid Bermuda the seeds are sterile.
> 
> My 25# bag of Riviera was $300 + tax straight from the grower.
> 
> To answer your question "is all common the same stuff" *absolutely not*.


+1


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

oops, you are right, just says common. Still, Id' rest assured that if it was one of the improved types they would say so.


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## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

ktgrok said:


> oops, you are right, just says common. Still, Id' rest assured that if it was one of the improved types they would say so.


Man, I _suuuuuure_ hope so!!! I am going to stop by their store this afternoon and see if I can get even smarter on this stuff. I'll post what they say.


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## Twister (Jun 21, 2019)

Short version of my visit to my local seed company today: The tech rep said that, yes, the stuff he sold me was "common", as in, not even "improved common" seed. He also explained how they develop "improved" common seeds via planting, cultivating what they planted, choosing the plants that best produce desirable characteristics and repeating that process until they end up with a seed that is vastly different from the original "common" stuff they started with. He said this is basically "evolution in action".

I suspect that many forum members know this is how it works but I sure didn't.

Happy planting!, and thanks to those who helped me get smarter on my question.


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