# Need to know how to get Bermuda grass seed to grow in East Texas



## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

Hi, I have been trying to grow a new lawn using Bermuda grass seed. This is what I have done so far. There is no grass or any foliage in my yard. I have tilled my yard, fertilized with Scott's New Lawn Food and used a broadcast spreader to spread Bermuda grass seed. I water the lawn 4 times a day for 15 mins each time. I have also tried a roll of Gotrax seed roll. I can not get grass to grow. I would like to know what is the missing part or secret to get Bermuda grass seed to get grass to grow. Have spent a lot of time and money on this project. Very frustrating.
Can anyone offer any suggestions or advice please?
Thank you


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

Did you cover the seed with about 1/8th inch soil or peat moss or something? It needs to be lightly covered or it won't grow. If it is too deep it also won't grow. Also, in texas in the summer 4 times a day for 15 minutes may not work - it needs to stay moist constantly until germination. So more like 5 minutes ever hour or two.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Can you post some pictures of your seed and area you are working in? Did you use any chemicals to get the area to dirt? Use any fertilizer? When was your seed down date?


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

How long ago did you put your seed down? Bermuda takes awhile to germinate.


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## lcwooten (Jul 9, 2019)

I am in central Texas and currently renovating 8,000 sq ft with Monaco Bermudagrass. I had germination at 7-10 days in _some_ areas that were very moist, but the rest of the yard has taken more like 14-16 days to germinate. What was your seed date? What variety are you seeding?

I am watering six times a day for 15-20 minutes. I have some dry spots which I'm hand watering because I do not have an in ground system. I lightly raked the seed and put peat moss over a lot of the area. Very light coverage of the peat. Watering frequently and keeping the soil moist are paramount for germination. The highs here the next few days are 102-104, so very similar to East Texas.

I would wonder if maybe a chemical was put down prior that would inhibit germination if you are past the 2-3 week window with absolutely no germination. Hope this helps.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

One more thought. Is it possible you put down some crabgrass preventer or something thats a pre emergent and accidentally stopped germination?


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

They sell a starter fertilizer that has pre-emergent in it, which you can use when cool season grasses but not bermuda any chance you used that?


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

Darrell_KC said:


> Can you post some pictures of your seed and area you are working in? Did you use any chemicals to get the area to dirt? Use any fertilizer? When was your seed down date?


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

ktgrok said:


> Did you cover the seed with about 1/8th inch soil or peat moss or something? It needs to be lightly covered or it won't grow. If it is too deep it also won't grow. Also, in texas in the summer 4 times a day for 15 minutes may not work - it needs to stay moist constantly until germination. So more like 5 minutes ever hour or two.


I have lightly covered the seed with dirt.


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

Mightyquinn said:


> How long ago did you put your seed down? Bermuda takes awhile to germinate.


I put the seed down 2 days ago


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

lcwooten said:


> I am in central Texas and currently renovating 8,000 sq ft with Monaco Bermudagrass. I had germination at 7-10 days in _some_ areas that were very moist, but the rest of the yard has taken more like 14-16 days to germinate. What was your seed date? What variety are you seeding?
> 
> I am watering six times a day for 15-20 minutes. I have some dry spots which I'm hand watering because I do not have an in ground system. I lightly raked the seed and put peat moss over a lot of the area. Very light coverage of the peat. Watering frequently and keeping the soil moist are paramount for germination. The highs here the next few days are 102-104, so very similar to East Texas.
> 
> I would wonder if maybe a chemical was put down prior that would inhibit germination if you are past the 2-3 week window with absolutely no germination. Hope this helps.


I think you have found my mistake. Not watering enough.


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

Thank you everyone for your advice and suggestions.
By the sounds of it I have not been watering enough. I'll increase the water frequency. Hopefully that will help. I put down 30lbs of lime and 30lbs of Scott's New Lawn fertilizer. I'm not aware of any chemicals being put down. My neighbor put some weed killer on his yard to kill everything. It is possible that some overspray came in my yard.
I have used 2 types of Bermuda Seed. 1. Rivera Bermuda. 2. A custom blend of Bermuda.


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

mlogan said:


> Thank you everyone for your advice and suggestions.
> By the sounds of it I have not been watering enough. I'll increase the water frequency. Hopefully that will help. I put down 30lbs of lime and 30lbs of Scott's New Lawn fertilizer. I'm not aware of any chemicals being put down. My neighbor put some weed killer on his yard to kill everything. It is possible that some overspray came in my yard.
> I have used 2 types of Bermuda Seed. 1. Rivera Bermuda. 2. A custom blend of Bermuda.


You put down 30lbs of Lime AND 30lbs of Scott's New Lawn Fertilizer over 550 sq/ft? That is WAY too much of either one of those for that area and you really don't want to put down Lime and Nitrogen together as they don't really play nice together.


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## TN Hawkeye (May 7, 2018)

mlogan said:


> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> > How long ago did you put your seed down? Bermuda takes awhile to germinate.
> ...


Two days is not enough time for it to germinate.


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## Chocolate Lab (Jun 8, 2019)

mlogan said:


> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> > How long ago did you put your seed down? Bermuda takes awhile to germinate.
> ...


You meant to type weeks, right? Otherwise here is the problem....

I've grown Bermuda seed three times now and my observation is that it's not as hard as some make it out to be. Yes, the seed has to be kept moist, but I didn't have to be as fanatical and obsessive about it as I thought. There are other problems like getting the old wild common killed off and weed pressure that are more of an issue.

I do have to add that unless you're in far southeast Texas, I'd be concerned that it's too late to plant and the Bermuda won't survive the winter. Maybe you're near the coast, though.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

mlogan said:


> Mightyquinn said:
> 
> 
> > How long ago did you put your seed down? Bermuda takes awhile to germinate.
> ...


Um, seed doesn't germinate overnight. 
Most seed bags will say when to expect germination, usually in the 7-14 day window. You may luck out and get earlier with some of it, but I don't know of any seeds that germinate in 2 days.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

If its really at 2 days and not 2 weeks, everyone else is right. Im growing yukon seed right now in a renovation after a full round up kill off of my front and back yards. Im in KC and our temps are pretty much high 80s, low 90s right now. I had seed down 2 weeks ago. My very earlier seedlings popped up at 6 days. Bermuda germinatio normally begin showing in 7-10 days.

There was a thread on here of a guy who was growing bermuda in Florida in extreme heat. He couldnt get germination either. In his case it was that he wasnt watering enough. Someone suggested he water 10 minutes i think every 2 hours and even hourly if possible. The guy asked what happens if it rains? The response was leave it. Bermuda is ok with water, but the motto is, if it dries it dies. My watering is using a timer. Its set for 10 minutes every 2 hours. I run it in one spot for morning-afternoon while im at work and then move it to a different spot for evening-night. I start my sprinklers around 7am, and shut them down at 9pm.

Ill see if i can get some pictures up today, but bermuda can handle some crazy bad growing conditions. There is a new house next door to me that they laid sod down. Theyve been watering nearly constantly and this happened the day before i started seeding. The side of my lawn sharing the new sod was flooded and i mean underwater flooded, for days. One spot, just for grins i had to stand 6 feet away and chucked seed over into the corner. It landed on standing water. I gave this no hope but figured i had the seed, what the hell. I still got decent germination out of this! Bermuda can grow in some crazy bad conditions but it does have to stay damp


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Here are pictures of my lawn from today 2 weeks after I planted seed. The very top picture was the seedlings just pushing through at 6 days.

The last 3 pictures, these were areas that were under water due to the neighbors running their sprinklers near constantly as they got new sod. The last picture in particular, this whole area spent a few days almost completely submerged. While there are some weeds coming up, theres also a decent amount of bermuda. I would have bet money that there was no way this section was going to grow and I would have been transplanting plugs/sprigs to get it started. It just shows you, you do not have to have perfect conditions to get seeds to sprout.


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## LoCutt (Jul 29, 2019)

George Toma of Super Bowl fame used to soak the seed he was using to overseed with in a barrel of water before spreading it out. Since I've never overseeded or used grass seed, I can't give you more information. But Google ought to yield some information on this. Texas A&M probably has information on this since they're one of the elite turf universities.


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

When watering newly seeded Bermuda grass seed can the grass seed get too much water?


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

Darrell_KC said:


> Here are pictures of my lawn from today 2 weeks after I planted seed. The very top picture was the seedlings just pushing through at 6 days.
> 
> The last 3 pictures, these were areas that were under water due to the neighbors running their sprinklers near constantly as they got new sod. The last picture in particular, this whole area spent a few days almost completely submerged. While there are some weeds coming up, theres also a decent amount of bermuda. I would have bet money that there was no way this section was going to grow and I would have been transplanting plugs/sprigs to get it started. It just shows you, you do not have to have perfect conditions to get seeds to sprout.


I really hope my yard begins looking like yours! Thank you for sharing your pics.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Judging by what I saw, which was grass floating on water, Id say not really. Now, it could be possible to water so much that you accidentally wash seed down. Or bury it too deep in the dirt that it cant germinate. The seed I threw down on water and total mud certainly didnt germinate at near as high of a rate as the rest of the lawn. It did germinate though.

One of the reasons that sold me on going with bermuda, when I was still experimenting with seed in my back yard. I planted some bermuda at the bottom of my fence, which is right where the water runs down to the drain behind my back yard. I watered it in, made sure it had a nice covering, and tossed down a bit of seed mulch. That night, we get a FREAK thunderstorm. I mean 6 inches of rain, overnight. My backyard became a river. Standing water everywhere. I was SURE, the spot at the bottom of the fence had washed out. How could it not? I didnt even put water down. Outside of rain, i left it as is. No sense crying over washed out seed! Then, 8 days later? Seedlings. probably about 25-30% of what i put down, but seedlings nonetheless. That sold me on it.


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

Than ok you Darrell_KC. I have a very slight run off. Mostly what I have is puddles. Cross my fingers I see grass growing some pretty soon. I just did readjust my watering start times. I now have water running for 30 mins. every 1/2 hours starting at 8am and ending at 5:30pm 7 days a week.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Water running for 30 mins every half hour? That might get expensive. Lol

I think 30 mins every 2 hours should be fine. Im watering mine at 20 mins every 2 hours. Ill post some more pics soon of my back, which was down to dirt and floodwater. Im actually amazed how well its coming on.


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

Oh no. I made a mistake. I set the water to run 30 mins. every 1 1/2 hrs. The temp here is over 100 degrees daily. I probably need to set the water run time to 20 mins every 1 1/2 hrs. 
My water bill is outrageous. Lol.


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## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

mlogan said:


> Than ok you Darrell_KC. I have a very slight run off. Mostly what I have is puddles. Cross my fingers I see grass growing some pretty soon. I just did readjust my watering start times. I now have water running for 30 mins. every 1/2 hours starting at 8am and ending at 5:30pm 7 days a week.


You don't need to soak it that long probably....there are no roots yet, so water that isn't right at the surface is useless right now. Most people do 5 minutes every hour, or maybe 5-10 minutes every two hours. You don't want puddles, just damp.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

@ktgrok is right here. My general rule is to try to water until the ground looks wet, but not puddling. If you step and squish and sink into the ground, its a little too much. You want the ground to feel soft, but not soaked.

I just posted some pictures last night from my backyard in my journal. The link is in my signature. I would not refer to this growing environment as optimal by any stretch of the imagination, but it is growing. Now that the neighbors are finally chilling out on the sod soaking, Im hoping I can get a normal irrigation process there again. Im happy the bermuda is growing and sprouting, but my concern is with how much water is on there, the roots wont dig down and be ready for winter.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

@mlogan hey any updated on your bermuda seed?

Im at 3 weeks past seed down. Ill get some updated pics later today


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

Here are a few pictures of my backyard.
2 pictures are on one side of the backyard. Getting some good grass coming in. The other picture is the biggest part of the backyard. Some grass is coming in. I'm hoping more will come in soon.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Good deal! Signs of life!


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

@Darrell_KC Yes Sir! Your Superior Knowledge is a Great Help! Feeling good. I hope to see more grass coming in on the other side. Then I can feel more comfortable. I'm thinking of increasing the water time to 10 mins on the other side. Hopefully that will help to bring in more grass. Growing Bermuda grass is an art.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Im still a beyond newb at this point. Ive had some successes, but this forum has all the information you can ask for. Look at the lawn journals and post any questions and the people here will take care of you


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

@Darrell_KC
I have discovered a solution for me to get my Bermuda grass to pop up after seeding. I have tried Scott's New Lawn Food. This is what I have done. I initially tilled my yard and spread Bermuda grass seed. Well, it either wasn't growing or growing a very little bit. I took a Scarifier and ran it through my bare yard. Then I sowed more seed. Well, I still wasn't getting the results that I thought I should be getting. So, I lightly hand raked the seeded area and then I spread Scott's New Lawn Food. Wow! What a big difference! I finally have Bermuda grass coming up every where! Very happy to see grass finally growing.


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Excellent! Well done and congrats on getting that bermuda to pop! @mlogan nice tip on the new scotts lawn food. Im done with my seeding for the year but i will keep that one in mind for next season if I have to seed again.

Also, send some pics of your progress


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

Darrell_KC said:


> Excellent! Well done and congrats on getting that bermuda to pop! @mlogan nice tip on the new scotts lawn food. Im done with my seeding for the year but i will keep that one in mind for next season if I have to seed again.
> 
> Also, send some pics of your progress
> 
> ...


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

Looking good!
Here is my backyard, almost 5 weeks after seed and after 2nd mow last night

https://postimg.cc/7CV09JGR


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

Wow! Your yard is looking amazing!


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

What should I do to get Bermuda grass to grow in these bare areas?


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## Darrell_KC (Mar 20, 2019)

I think the best bet this late in the year is going to be keeping up with the fertilizer to keep the new grass healthy and that will encourage it to start spreading, and then doing some plugging if you have one of the pro-pluggers. You probably wont get much more fill in this season, but next season you should be ready to start pushing the lawn to start filling in


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## mlogan (Aug 10, 2019)

@Darrell_KC Lawn Journal
Thank you for the sound advice.


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