# How Low is Too Low?



## waddles (Oct 6, 2019)

Hey Guys,

I live in Australia and I have Warm Season BERMUDA Grass.
This is my first year dropping the height down low to give myself that bowling greens effect.

It is currently 6-8mm (. 23inch - .31 inch)and im having troubles with the color of the lawn.
Its very brown, as can be seen in the photos, and my concern is I've gone too low.

The height was dropped down roughly 2-3 weeks ago and since then color is still very average.
The color prior to dropping the height was perfect! I did however put on some PGR before I dropped the height. Is this a potential issue?

The lawn is looked after perfectly, it gets a regular treatment:

1. Mowed 4 times a week with a Reel Mower
2. Seaweed Solution + Iron Solution applied every 2-3 weeks
3. Humic and Fumic Acid Solutions Applied
4. I have applied Acelpryn GR for Lawn Grub Control (6mth control) so I know its not bugs
5. I have applied an annual Fungicide (so I know its not fungicide related)

I was wondering if one of you Gurus could tell me what I've done wrong!?
Is it too low? Or is it because it needs more time to adjust to the lower height?
Or has it not recovered from me dropping the height down AFTER putting on the PGR?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Welcome to TLF @waddles!

What was the HOC before you dropped it? You may need to raise the HOC slightly higher than your lowest cut to help hide some of the brown stems/plant tissue. For example, it is not uncommon to scalp to somewhere around 0.375 inch, then maintain around 0.50 inch.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

I didn't know what couch grass (Elymus repens) was so I looked it up. Here, we call it quackgrass and it's considered an invasive species. Interesting that you have it as a lawn and we don't want it here. I wonder why that is and why it isn't grown here as a lawn?\

I don't know much about cultivating it but when was your last fertilizer app? I'm not sure if it should be treated like bermuda as Ware described or as zoysia. Maybe post a closeup so we can see if it's all stem now and not enough leaf.


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

Suburban Jungle Life said:


> I didn't know what couch grass (Elymus repens) was so I looked it up. Here, we call it quackgrass and it's considered an invasive species. Interesting that you have it as a lawn and we don't want it here...


Couch (pronounced cooch) is the common name for bermudagrass in Australia.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

Ware said:


> Suburban Jungle Life said:
> 
> 
> > I didn't know what couch grass (Elymus repens) was so I looked it up. Here, we call it quackgrass and it's considered an invasive species. Interesting that you have it as a lawn and we don't want it here...
> ...


Thanks for the clarification!


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## Cory (Aug 23, 2017)

Suburban Jungle Life said:


> I didn't know what couch grass (Elymus repens) was so I looked it up. Here, we call it quackgrass and it's considered an invasive species. Interesting that you have it as a lawn and we don't want it here. I wonder why that is and why it isn't grown here as a lawn?\
> 
> I don't know much about cultivating it but when was your last fertilizer app? I'm not sure if it should be treated like bermuda as Ware described or as zoysia. Maybe post a closeup so we can see if it's all stem now and not enough leaf.


In Australia Couch=Bermuda and Buffalo=St Augustine


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

Cory said:


> Suburban Jungle Life said:
> 
> 
> > I didn't know what couch grass (Elymus repens) was so I looked it up. Here, we call it quackgrass and it's considered an invasive species. Interesting that you have it as a lawn and we don't want it here. I wonder why that is and why it isn't grown here as a lawn?\
> ...


Thanks for clearing it up! I'm not sure why it showed couch as quackgrass on the interwebs.


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## LoCutt (Jul 29, 2019)

I'd say that your lawn has the potential to be a showcase. Congratulations.

Assuming Couch is indeed Bermuda, there are several very different Bermuda cultivars that flourish with different HOCs. Thus you need to know your cultivar. Once you know that, you can probably look up (Google) the preferred HOC range.

Having said that, the thatch zone of Bermuda continuously goes up. Bermuda grows very fast horizontally, and needs interventions to provide lateral growing space to be vigorous and healthy. You must not only mow, but thin, dethatch, and aerate on a scheduled basis to avoid thatch problems.

Perhaps your grass is one of Rod Riley's cultivars.


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## waddles (Oct 6, 2019)

Thanks Guys, Yeah it is Bermuda grass I have!
How do I know if I'm mowing too low or not? I suspect I may be as it starts to "green up" and then I mow again 2 days later and it looks browner......so I'm guessing I should raise the height of my cut?

I was pretty sure Bermuda could be cut lower than .23 of an inch!? As it looks amazing cut this short!


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## waddles (Oct 6, 2019)

Ware said:


> Welcome to TLF @waddles!
> 
> What was the HOC before you dropped it? You may need to raise the HOC slightly higher than your lowest cut to help hide some of the brown stems/plant tissue. For example, it is not uncommon to scalp to somewhere around 0.375 inch, then maintain around 0.50 inch.


Thanks, my HOC a year ago was about 1 inch, but it was way to long, I wanted this season to try and drop it as low as I could go as it looks a lot better lower.


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## waddles (Oct 6, 2019)

LoCutt said:


> I'd say that your lawn has the potential to be a showcase. Congratulations.
> 
> Assuming Couch is indeed Bermuda, there are several very different Bermuda cultivars that flourish with different HOCs. Thus you need to know your cultivar. Once you know that, you can probably look up (Google) the preferred HOC range.
> 
> ...


Thanks mate! It is Bermuda grass, I'm not sure what cultivars of the grass.
I may just have to slowly increase the HOC on the Reel Mower until it looks amazing again! I'm assuming I just raise it by .1 inch every few weeks until its at optimal looks?

The lawn gets a yearly de-thatch, aeration is done twice a year as is topdressing with a triple washed river sand.
I have only just applied by first application of PGR to start to get some lateral growth, as I know it does grow vertically pretty fast.


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## LoCutt (Jul 29, 2019)

Once you know the optimum height range, you may still have the yellow spots because of inadequate horizontal growth room whose tell-tale result is the yellow spots. This can only be solved by creating lateral growth space via slicing, topdressing, dethatching, etc. Golf greens get preemptive treatment, hence remain playable very quickly after the procedure. I think the slicing procedure is generally regarded as the least disruptive and is the most often performed. If you have a golf course in your area, perhaps you could ask what procedures they use and how often. More than likely you could emulate this but you probably can increase the interval between procedures because your HOC is higher and you're not pushing the turf as hard.

Celebration Bermuda, which is used in the USA on a number of football fields, is a product of the late Dr. Rod Riley of Australia. I believe it was called Super Sport in your country. You might ask around about this to help you identify your cultivar.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

If you want to maintain at this height you need to cut once even lower, then go back to this height.


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