# Over seeding Bermuda with Rye (Winter Months)



## cnet24 (Jul 14, 2017)

This is something that I have thought about doing the past couple of years in my lawn for the cooler months. The main reason would be for erosion control- I have a pretty steep hill in my backyard that struggles with erosion issues in the winter months once my bermuda is thinned out and gone dormant. I've been doing some research lately on this topic and the only real issue seems to be the spring transition once bermuda comes back (scalp, scalp,scalp).

Does anyone have experience with overseeding your bermuda lawn with rye for the cooler months? Or am I crazy for wanting to maintain a green yard year-round? :lol:


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## tbdh20 (Feb 28, 2017)

I have no real experience with planting rye and winter erosion. I over seeded rye years ago, a simple process, died quickly with heat late spring early summer. I am also over seeding this fall because of hardscape renos.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

What's your HOC on your bermuda?


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## bretben55 (Apr 24, 2017)

I over seeded last winter with perennial rye on my Bermuda for the first time. I used seed from One site Landscaping and spread it in October after cutting the Bermuda to a half inch. It germinated in about 7 days. I loved the way it looked and striped. I cut it about once a week. The problem was it was pretty hardy and stayed until late July. I don't think I scalped it low enough. But it was great having the dark green all winter and not having the dog track in dead grass from the back yard. Here are some pics of the germination and when it fully came in. I'll do it again this winter.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Nice. Do you recall what your seed rate (pounds per thousand) was?


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## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

Is there a reason to not use annual ryegrass since we want it gone in the spring anyway?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Fistertondeluxe said:


> Is there a reason to not use annual ryegrass since we want it gone in the spring anyway?


It is my understanding perennial has better overall turf characteristics, traffic tolerance, disease resistance, etc.


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## Iriasj2009 (Feb 15, 2017)

Ware said:


> Fistertondeluxe said:
> 
> 
> > Is there a reason to not use annual ryegrass since we want it gone in the spring anyway?
> ...


Also, perennial has a dark green color vs an annual which has a lighter green color. Annual grows much faster and is messier to deal with. Only plus would be that any heat knocks the annual out much quicker, which could be a good thing when it comes to transition, oh and it's much cheaper. Go with perennial unless you are just going for ground cover.


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## Reel Low Dad (Jun 1, 2017)

Good to know. I may put some in may backyard to help with erosion since it is mostly weeds and I will be renovating next year. Thanks for the input.


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

Fistertondeluxe said:


> Good to know. I may put some in may backyard to help with erosion since it is mostly weeds and I will be renovating next year. Thanks for the input.


Just don't do the front yard till next winter. It's recommended not to overseed the first winter after seeding Bermuda. Btw saw the pic in the photo thread. Looking good :thumbup:


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## csbutler (Jun 15, 2017)

I'm interested in doing this to my back yard to help with my dogs in and out. My only concern is that I had a TON of poa going into the spring. Would it be better to put down a pre emergent this winter and overseed next year?


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## Jericho574 (May 24, 2017)

bretben55 said:


> I over seeded last winter with perennial rye on my Bermuda for the first time. I used seed from One site Landscaping and spread it in October after cutting the Bermuda to a half inch. It germinated in about 7 days. I loved the way it looked and striped. I cut it about once a week. The problem was it was pretty hardy and stayed until late July. I don't think I scalped it low enough. But it was great having the dark green all winter and not having the dog track in dead grass from the back yard. Here are some pics of the germination and when it fully came in. I'll do it again this winter.


What HOC is that rye?


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## ABC123 (Jul 14, 2017)

Wow that rye looks great, wish it was more winter hardy.


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## bretben55 (Apr 24, 2017)

Ware said:


> Nice. Do you recall what your seed rate (pounds per thousand) was?


I put the seed down heavy, spreading a 50lb bag over ~3000sqft.


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## bretben55 (Apr 24, 2017)

I can't remember exactly on the Hoc. I think it was around 1 - 1.25 inches. I would cut it first with my 48" Lesco walk behind rotary, then a second time with the greensmaster as high as it would go. Other weeks I would just use the Lesco. But it stripes great even at .75 inches, as the Bermuda was blending in with it in May.


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## bretben55 (Apr 24, 2017)

It's not too late to overseed for you southern guys! I plan on doing it again next weekend.

Here are two good links:

PDF
https://www.ewingirrigation.com/downloads/dl/file/id/987/overseeding_guide_and_best_practices.pdf

Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8kFiDHMeVs

Hopefully, I'll get as good of results as Ware.


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## Dico112lr4 (Apr 5, 2018)

Anyone have experience with overseeding Rye for the winter in 7B? Not sure if it will get too cold here and kill it off. We tend to get a few ice/snowstorms a year.


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## fp_911 (Apr 10, 2017)

Dico112lr4 said:


> Anyone have experience with overseeding Rye for the winter in 7B? Not sure if it will get too cold here and kill it off. We tend to get a few ice/snowstorms a year.


I did it last year in my back yard where my Bermuda was a bit thin because of a kid playset.

It actually did really well until we had that deep freeze in Charlotte that last about a week. It pretty much died after that but the good thing is that made the transition back to Bermuda pretty easy for me.

Keep in mind you won't be able to take the winter off from mowing though. It grows fast so to keep things tidy you'll have to maintain. Also it looked weird in my yard because I only did the play area. So I had a sea of dormant Bermuda with a section of ryegrass growing like nothing else in the middle of winter.


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## Dico112lr4 (Apr 5, 2018)

fp_911 said:


> Dico112lr4 said:
> 
> 
> > Anyone have experience with overseeding Rye for the winter in 7B? Not sure if it will get too cold here and kill it off. We tend to get a few ice/snowstorms a year.
> ...


Thanks for the info. The best thing would be not having my dog track in dead Bermuda/mud all winter.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

bretben55 said:


> I over seeded last winter with perennial rye on my Bermuda for the first time. I used seed from One site Landscaping and spread it in October after cutting the Bermuda to a half inch. It germinated in about 7 days. I loved the way it looked and striped. I cut it about once a week. The problem was it was pretty hardy and stayed until late July. I don't think I scalped it low enough. But it was great having the dark green all winter and not having the dog track in dead grass from the back yard. Here are some pics of the germination and when it fully came in. I'll do it again this winter.


Did you do anything else to prep/plant other than scalp the Bermuda and spread the seed? Also, when did you apply/plan to apply seed this year? I was assuming the end of Sep was the ideal time for N. Alabama but wasn't exactly sure.


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## bretben55 (Apr 24, 2017)

No, just scalped. Dropped the seed, then watered 3 times a day, like 5-8 minutes for 7 days. Theres a pretty big window between mid September and end of October. I waited for the bermuda to go dormant.


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## Movingshrub (Jun 12, 2017)

bretben55 said:


> No, just scalped. Dropped the seed, then watered 3 times a day, like 5-8 minutes for 7 days. Theres a pretty big window between mid September and end of October. I waited for the bermuda to go dormant.


Where did you come up with that planting window? I thought the seeded to go down at least 30 days before the expected first frost, so late Sep in north Alabama, at the latest.


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## bretben55 (Apr 24, 2017)

I am only basing that time frame off of the last two winters that I overseeded. The first time was late October 2017, then the following year it was early November. Maybe I just got lucky. I just feel like September is still too warm for the bermuda to stop growing. The first picture was taken 11/8/16, the second and third pics are 11/17/17.


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