# Considering Change From Common - Need Opinions



## CyberGolfer (Mar 10, 2020)

To All,

Former Lurker enjoying the boards and appreciating all successes and challenges by the Team here. Great fun in sharing the love of our lawns.

Considering changing my lawn over, maybe a section at a time, from Common Bermuda. Would love opinions on a few questions:

1. My backyard is small (1000sqft out of 3200 total) but there is about 1-2 feet off the garden that get's morning sun and nothing else. It's thin and mossy. How should I handle this if I plant a Yukon or Arden? Should I sod with Celebration/TifGrand/TifTuf and will it "match" the seed variety? Really don't want to extend the garden and "chase" the shade but may be the only choice.

2. When they say to cover the seed with 1/8" of soil. How the heck do you do that???? Will raking the seed into the topsoil and rolling it accomplish this or should the topsoil be spread over it with something/somehow.

3. My backyard is pretty thin but still have a decent crop of Common Bermuda. If I chose to live with it. How do I energize it to get it to spread/thicken? My soil test (UGA) has a pH of 6.9 and recommendation is 10/10/10 at green up and 36/0/0 through summer (2 times). Thoughts?

Rest of lawn has pretty good coverage but is also pretty level so likely not of leveling needed if I want to change over.

Appreciate any thoughts/questions. Best of luck to all this year!


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## cesjr86 (Mar 10, 2020)

Let me start by saying sorry I have no advise for you, but I want to follow your thread because I have some similar questions. I am new here and I decided to start from scratch.

1. Today I put out eliminator (Walmart's roundup) to kill all of the current weeds (mostly POA and crabgrass) and the St. Aug that is already starting to green up. I don't want St. Aug in my lawn. I have 3 or 4 different bermuda types growing in my lawn and you can see it. I am going to try and start over with Yukon.

2. This weekend I have someone coming to scalp, dethatch, aerate the grass (if the weather cooperates).

3. I am going to do some leveling with topsoil and sand.

4. Add Scott's starter when I put down the seed.

5. Try to choke out everything by cutting low then, feeding with fertilizers that says not to put on the St. Aug (didn't work last year).

I am in Central Tx, have a in-ground sprinkler, regular push mower and about 4700-4800 square feet of turf; front left has had lots of weeds but grass has been growing in, front right minimal weeds 1/3 St. Aug 2/3 mixed bermuda, back is 1/5 St. Aug no weeds and the rest is basically weeds; I have one shady side of my house, that is where the St. Aug is flourishing, It crept in from my neighbors yard.

Am I doing this the right way or I am about to waste lots of money?


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## smarchandiv (Aug 22, 2018)

If you have common Bermuda already, Kill it ALL.
Repeat- Kill it all. If you leave sections of it, it will invade your new grass and you'll be screwed.

It takes at least 3 rounds of round up to kill it. And that not counting the seeds in the soil. I've learned the hard way.

There is nothing I fear worse than Common Bermuda b/c it's practically impossible to eradicate it once it invades your new Bermuda grass. You have to kill and re-sod the invaded areas.

People say just keep the hybrid Bermuda cut low, like 1/2 inch,. and it will overtake the C Bermuda. That's not always true.

Kill it with 3 treatments of Round Up spaced 2 weeks apart. Then bring in new sod.

Check the sod farm field in the early morning to make sure they don't have C Bermuda invading their sod. The early morning dew patterns make it easy to see.


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## cesjr86 (Mar 10, 2020)

Thank you I will hold off a little longer before I put down the Yukon, I am using seed. I will the my bermuda grow in some and kill it. That kind of sucks though because I will need to seed later in the season.


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## theKOkid (Jul 22, 2019)

I've been thinking about this too. Does anyone think if you used a sod cutter and took common Bermuda away, maybe even went as far to dig out the soil underneath by 6 or so inches and replaced with sand, that the common would come back or be gone for good after putting down a new hybrid Bermuda?


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I believe that even if you were able to successfully eradicate common Bermuda in your yard, it will come back from other sources (birds, neighbors, wind, other mowers). If common Bermuda is an issue in your area, it will be an issue in your yard eventually. I have a patch of common in my Tifway 419. I mowed at .5" last year and it made absolutely no progress on the hybrid. This year I plan on mowing at 3/8" as long into the season as possible. I believe mowing low works but "mowing low" is a relative term. Mowing low doesn't mean under an inch when Bermuda is concerned. Common looks great and is strong at .75". Mowing low is under 1/2". I recently scalped at .25". The hybrid still had lots of green left; the common looked pissed! That alone should give the hybrid a head start for the season.


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## McDiddles (Feb 24, 2020)

CyberGolfer said:


> To All,
> 
> Former Lurker enjoying the boards and appreciating all successes and challenges by the Team here. Great fun in sharing the love of our lawns.
> 
> ...


Is it getting enough sun for bermuda? Anything less then 8 hours of direct light will cause thinning overtime. If the shaded areas are isolated, extending the plant beds might be your only option, unless you can allow for more sunlight.

Matching bermuda seed to sod is going to be tough. I always recommend warm season grasses be sodded, over seeded. If you decide not to stick with what you have then kill all the common bermuda first, and start fresh.

The UGA analysis provides general recommendations to get the lawn the required N for the season. I think the only specific recommendation they give is for PH.


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## McDiddles (Feb 24, 2020)

cesjr86 said:


> Let me start by saying sorry I have no advise for you, but I want to follow your thread because I have some similar questions. I am new here and I decided to start from scratch.
> 
> 1. Today I put out eliminator (Walmart's roundup) to kill all of the current weeds (mostly POA and crabgrass) and the St. Aug that is already starting to green up. I don't want St. Aug in my lawn. I have 3 or 4 different bermuda types growing in my lawn and you can see it. I am going to try and start over with Yukon.
> 
> ...


Doesn't seem like a bad plan but I think you're a little early for seeding bermuda. Check your local soil temp. I think it should be in the high 60's-70's, or above.


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## Rooster (Aug 19, 2019)

McDiddles said:


> Doesn't seem like a bad plan but I think you're a little early for seeding bermuda. Check your local soil temp. I think it should be in the high 60's-70's, or above.


Bermuda seed is expensive and the research suggests that below 65 degrees germination takes much longer and tends to be less complete. To pile on, if it takes 21 days instead of 7 to get maximum germination, your chances of things like washout go way up.

With the climate here, that means I'm waiting another 2 months before attempting any bermuda seeding. It's annual rye for now.


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## cesjr86 (Mar 10, 2020)

I will be putting down the bermuda in the middle of april. Currently I am working to kill everything; then put out some pre-emergent and Ant bait; scalp, aerate, and dethatch (was going to have this done this weekend, but....).

Spring Prep 1 (Feb & Mar)
Pre-Emergent
Kill All Weeds
Pest Treatment

Spring Prep 2	(by mid April)
Scalp, Dethatch, Aerate
Level
Fertilize
Overseed

Summer Prep 1 (May)
Pest Treatment
Disease Treatment
Weed & Feed (High Fe)
Aerate

Summer Prep 2 (By mid June)	
Pre-Emergent
Pest Treatment

Summer Treatment (Mid July)	
Weed & Feed (High Fe)

Late Fall/Winter Prep (Mid Sep)	
Weed & Feed (High Potash)
Pre-Emergent
Pest Treatment
Disease Treatment


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## HungrySoutherner (May 29, 2018)

If you are going to put down Bermuda then you need to skip the pre-M....


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Sod ...as much as you can budget ....Bermuda spreads fairly well.


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## CyberGolfer (Mar 10, 2020)

Thank you. Appreciate the opinions and advise.

If I kill all my c/bermuda, since I live in an HOA, my neighbors still have c/bermuda. How would I handle/control their c/bermuda from creeping into my Yukon/Arden along the property boundaries?


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

CyberGolfer said:


> Thank you. Appreciate the opinions and advise.
> 
> If I kill all my c/bermuda, since I live in an HOA, my neighbors still have c/bermuda. How would I handle/control their c/bermuda from creeping into my Yukon/Arden along the property boundaries?


That was my point earlier is that I don't think you could control it. It will return no matter what you do to your yard. Unlike hybrid varieties, c/bermuda seeds are viable and spread. On the other hand, you can really make c/bermuda look awesome (Check out @Cory's lawn journal). I would go with what you have and push it hard. You could add a hybrid variety to see which one will outcompete the other, but you will always be dealing with the common.


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