# New TifTuf - Improvement plan?



## cbrendan (Oct 10, 2020)

Hi everyone,

First post after doing doing *a lot* of reading.

I had approx 80sqm of new TifTuf sod laid at the start of May of this year, which due to timings basically sat dormant for ~4 months.

It was top dressed with sand by the installer within the first week.

I was a bit confused when to give the lawn its first mow, given winter weather hit almost immediately following install - and in hindsight probably left it far too long.

I was waiting for it to grow and inch or so in height vertically before giving it a run over with the mower - but instead of growing vertically it instead just grew very matted and dense, with lots of yellow/ white runners visible.

I gave it its first mow at the start of September, only skimming the top off, which neatened it up a bit, but didn't do anything to tackle the unsightly matted mess.

I've since fertilised with a N.P.K. 14.1.10 +0.6Fe mix, and also given it a pre-emergent oxafert treatment.

As the weather has warmed I started to see a lot of growth (mainly seed heads), and had been mowing twice a week to keep on top of it.

Getting frustrated that this was doing nothing to address the mess underneath, and based on a lot of similar activity on he forum - I dropped my Honda HRX down to the lowest rung at the front, and second lowest rung at the back this morn, and scalped it right back.

I'm really pleased with the results, even if it has highlighted some level issues.

I've attached a number of pics.

Install on 5th May.



Sand starting to settle 18th May.



My son helping rake out the thick matted yellow mess 29th Aug.



After a mow 4th Oct. Not low enough to tackle all the matted rubbish.



This mornings aggressive scalp. (front of HRX mower one rung below height of 4th Oct mow).





What does everyone think I should do next?

If I raise the front rung on my mower up one, and then maintain that height, should I have a nice green visually pleasant lawn within the next week or so?

Or will a more active program be needed?

Would appreciate any advice, and happy to purchase any products as necessary to get everything looking great heading into summer.

Cheers

Brendan


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## Mightyquinn (Jan 31, 2017)

Welcome to TLF from the Land Down Under!!!! 

I would just keep feeding it monthly and raise the mower a notch so it can start to green up some more. You could also probably start thinking of putting some sand down here in the next month once it greens back up most of the way. You might also want to think of getting a soil test done so you know what nutrients you need to apply, not sure how easy that is to get done in Australia.

We do have a few members here from Australia so hopefully they will come along here and give you some more detailed advice.


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## cityofoaks (Sep 8, 2020)

That looks really good to me for dormant sod in the first season. Just keep mowing and feeding......... the more you mow the better it will look, it takes a little while for the grass to get trained to the height you decide to keep it. 1 inch or less is an ideal height.


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## cbrendan (Oct 10, 2020)

Thanks guys, that's really reassuring.

Appreciate it.


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## cbrendan (Oct 10, 2020)

Spring has arrived again down under, and I was reminded of this thread from ~12 months ago.

I've learnt so much from this forum, I thought I just post and provide an update and close the loop on my own questions.

After the initial concern, the lawn ended up looking brilliant throughout its first growing season.

A few light scalping issues at times as the pic below shows. But for the most part very very happy with it.



^^(that pic was taken at the end of summer ~6 months ago)

Fast forward to now, I've just core aerated, and have bought a manual push reel mower (Masport Cleveland) to hopefully make the second growing season even better.


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## AussieTrev (Sep 26, 2021)

Looking good man! Fellow Aussie here & new to lawn care. Had tiftuf laid about 6 months ago, struggled a bit during a wet winter mainly due to poor drainage but survived  bit patchy and scalped a bit from being so bumpy, so needs to be top dressed soon. Heading into my first growing season, any tips for a newbie? Hoping it bounces back & starts greening up. Cheers


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## cbrendan (Oct 10, 2020)

There are others here far more qualified than I am to be giving advice...

But with that said, all of my worry early on in the season quickly disappeared when a decent run of warm weather arrived, and the lawn just sprung to life and starting looking amazing.

I don't have any tips per se', but I did run into a few issues along the way which you might face into as well.

I started off trying to keep it nice and short, but the growth got away from me even when I was mowing 2-3 times a week at the peak of the growing season (In hindsight I probably fed and watered it a bit too much).

To prevent/ minimise scalping, I raised the mower up a notch a few times, which eventually created its own problem, with the grass becoming far too long and quite spongey by ~February-ish

A mid/ late season scalp reset the HOC right back down, and within ~3 weeks it looked brand new again.

Getting the grass as level as possible with some sand is definitely a good idea, and be ready to mow mow mow!

Good luck!


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## Buffalolawny (Nov 24, 2018)

Another Aussie. :dancenana: 
Glad you edited the photo's for the Northern Hemisphere Lawnie's on here. (turned them upside down :thumbup: )
What height are those tress going to grow? MIght limit the length of daytime sun at some point.
How do you water the lawn? is it by hand, sprinkler, in-ground irrigation.


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## cbrendan (Oct 10, 2020)

The trees will hopefully grow high enough to provide a bit more privacy from the house behind. Will have to take the hit on shade increase to gain the privacy unfortunately.

Water is via in-ground irrigation. Got 8 points around the edges.

These are pics from today.

Core aerated and scalped about 2 weeks ago and bouncing back nicely.

Sitting at about 17/18mm now. Will raise the height to about an inch as maintenance height.


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## Buffalolawny (Nov 24, 2018)

Its looking good for the time of year


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## cbrendan (Oct 10, 2020)

Thought I'd provide a bit of an update. Should probably start a journal (maybe next year) - but just to really close out the loop on how things have landed since my initial post ~18 months ago.

I scalped it as low as I could get it and put down about 1 cubic metre of sand on 26th Oct.



Some decent recovery started to become visible by 6th November.



1 month of recovery on 26th November.



And now these pics taken today on 2nd Dec. Recovery is 98% complete, just a few patches in the back corners which were the sand was applied quite deep.

I've bought some primo maxx, and as soon as the last of the recovery is complete I'll be getting some of that down to hopefully enjoy a really successful second growing season.


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## neptunepic (Dec 4, 2021)

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and looking for advice about the best mower for my Tiftuf bermuda grass. I'm in LA and having a tough time finding gardeners who know how to deal with bermuda, and I'm constantly having scalping issues.

So, if I was gonna buy my own mower what would y'all recommend?

Thanks much!


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Reel mowers are best but you can have it looking good with just about any mower if you keep after it. The frequency of mowing is way more important than the actual mower.

If you are only mowing once a week it will look bad even with the best mower.

If you are looking for a rotary, find something that will mow low like one of the Hondas. They can go down to .75".


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## neptunepic (Dec 4, 2021)

Thanks, are there any electric mowers you would recommend? I need something relatively light due to a bad back &#129324;


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## cglarsen (Dec 28, 2018)

Well done.


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## Jack2012 (Jan 31, 2021)

You should follow @tiftuf_coast on Insta. He is an Aussie also.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

neptunepic said:


> Thanks, are there any electric mowers you would recommend? I need something relatively light due to a bad back 🤬


I'd suggest start a separate thread

"Gardner"....that's generous.  ..or what are they growing for you?

Push reel is light!


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## cbrendan (Oct 10, 2020)

Thankfully Spring is here again!

Scalped and went at it aggressively with the detaching rake today.

My back lawn is only ~60 sqm, and it was really wasn't that long pre scalp... and I still ended up taking 8 and a bit full catcher loads out of it.



Looking forward to another growing season, and things greening up over the next few weeks!


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## dofdk3 (4 mo ago)

Yes! Just when our lawns start going dormant we still get fresh looking lawns all winter! Yay for Australia &#127462;&#127482;!!

Lawn looks fantastic!


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## Edwards Limestone (1 mo ago)

That is looking incredible! May I ask what trees those are? They look like they are growing fast.

Looking for something similar to plant for privacy around my fenceline here in south central Texas!


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## franktiberi (7 mo ago)

Edwards Limestone said:


> That is looking incredible! May I ask what trees those are? They look like they are growing fast.
> 
> Looking for something similar to plant for privacy around my fenceline here in south central Texas!


Looks like Chindo Viburnum.


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