# bermuda grass stems



## bandwgn09 (Aug 8, 2017)

I put down tifgreen hybrid bermuda grass sod about a month ago. The sod I received was long and after waiting the initial 10 days to mow the grass was well over 2 inches tall. I was gradually bringing the grass down lower, but after my last mow yesterday I cut down below the blade level to the stems. The stems are about an inch tall by themselves. Will new grass blades grow out of the brown stems? Should I add Iron to the lawn? Fertilizer? Whats the best course of action to take?


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## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

Fert + water + time

Yes the grass will grow from the brown stems. Depending on how much of the area you scalped it might be a good time to drop the height of cut (HOC) down lower and do a full scalp if you're wanting to maintain a lower HOC. We normally recommend aggressively scalping rather than lowering the HOC over a week or 2. That way the grass will get stressed once and it's over rather than dragging out the process over a few weeks. With it being new sod you definitely want to make sure it's rooted down good before stressing it too much.


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## bandwgn09 (Aug 8, 2017)

What fertilizer should I use? It's going to be 95-100* the next week. With the heat I'm afraid too high nitrogen content might be counter productive.


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## CMOG Dibbler (Jul 10, 2017)

bandwgn09 said:


> What fertilizer should I use? It's going to be 95-100* the next week. With the heat I'm afraid too high nitrogen content might be counter productive.


Did you apply any fertilizer prior to or after the sod installed? Typically a starter fertilizer is a good choice even with new sod. So if you skipped any fertilizer application I think you would be safe to go that route. Fertilizing in the hottest periods of summer is sometimes not recommended for established lawns but if you have brand new sod or seed you need to give it a kick start.

If you already applied starter fertilizer I would consider looking into other factors (mowing or irrigation practices first) and then maybe in another week or so you might apply a general turf fertilizer or milorganite

What's your irrigation schedule like?

Is that the worst area of the whole project? If so I would say it looks like the new sod is going pretty well.

Is the area level? If not best advice might be to raise the HOC until next season just to let the grass recover and stay healthy until you can get the area more level.


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## bandwgn09 (Aug 8, 2017)

I put some organic fertilizer on the ground before I laid the sod, but no fertilizer since.

I water for 12 minutes every other day.

The area is not level as I have an area that is scalped and 1 inch away I have grass 1.5 inches tall.

I am planning on planting perennial Rye in October as shade becomes a big issue from October to April. When that time comes I'm going to have to cut the grass short. So you're saying I should keep the grass the length as is until then? I have hybrid Bermuda so it does better when it's short. There is a reply earlier that says I should cut it down to the length I want now so it only get stressed out once. I'm a bit confused.


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## CMOG Dibbler (Jul 10, 2017)

bandwgn09 said:


> I put some organic fertilizer on the ground before I laid the sod, but no fertilizer since.
> 
> I water for 12 minutes every other day.
> 
> ...


Yes TifGreen is a very aggressive grass and meant to be cut short, its a popular choice for golf greens even. I'm surprised the sod was delivered at such a high initial cut. I was just being cautious on your behalf, as i don't know your climate very well and would rather you not lose the investment. If the sod has taken root, and you are getting full sun on the area, and have several weeks of warm temperatures left it should recover just fine from a scalping no problem. I would scalp at a height lower than your target HOC. So if you want to maintain at 1" you might need to set your reel mower to 5/8" and then it should green up from there. Others may weigh in with other options. or you can also call the sod farm to get there opinion.


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## bandwgn09 (Aug 8, 2017)

Thanks.
The temperature will be between 90-105 from now until October. Part of the lawn does not receive full sun so I'll leave that a little longer.

Next question is fertilizer: With it being between 95-100 the next week should I use a 16-8-6 or what would you recommend?

My current water rate is 1.5 inches per week. This good?


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

1.5 is probably okay. Needs atleast an inch a week roughly depends on climate and whatnot.

Some simple milorganite would work. Even a fast release 34-0-0 even. Just be sure to measure out what you need correctly. Apply when dry and water it in. Temp won't really matter when putting down the fert.


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## CMOG Dibbler (Jul 10, 2017)

A complete fertilizer like the 16-6-8 or something close to a 4:1:2 ratio would be a good choice for a new lawn in my mind. If not i also like the idea of using milorganite as you will get a little Phos for early growth and root development of the lawn.


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## bandwgn09 (Aug 8, 2017)

Update: 
I took some advice and cut my lawn down to 3/4 inch (scalped) with the hopes of establishing a 1 inch lawn from here on out. I then fertilized with a 21-0-2. Daytime temps are about 95* with full sun and watering 10 minutes every other day.

Here are the results day 1:


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## southernguy311 (Mar 17, 2017)

You need to be watering deep and infrequent

10 min every other day is not good management


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## high leverage (Jun 11, 2017)

That's a good looking daschund! Yard not so much. More water less frequently.


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## bandwgn09 (Aug 8, 2017)

Doberman actually. 
So 15 mins every third day?


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## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

bandwgn09 said:


> Doberman actually.
> So 15 mins every third day?


Run times should really be set based on the precipitation rate (in/hr) of each zone. You can use tuna cans or irrigation sprinkler gauges to determine the actual precipitation rate for a zone. For example, 15 minutes twice a week might be fine if you have sprays and determine that the precipitation rate is 2.0 in/hr, but not if you have rotors or MP Rotators and determine that the precipitation rate is more like 0.4 in/hr. In the first case, you be putting down about 1" of irrigation each week - in the second case, you would only be putting down about 0.2" of irrigation each week.


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## bandwgn09 (Aug 8, 2017)

It's been a week since I scalped the lawn. In the older grass I see a big improvement already, but in the newer grass still looks pretty bad. Although when look closely I can see a few green blades sprouting from the brown stems. Is this normal or should I have seen a bit more improvement already?


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## southernguy311 (Mar 17, 2017)

bandwgn09 said:


> It's been a week since I scalped the lawn. In the older grass I see a big improvement already, but in the newer grass still looks pretty bad. Although when look closely I can see a few green blades sprouting from the brown stems. Is this normal or should I have seen a bit more improvement already?


Have you adjusted your watering schedule?

What is your watering schedule currently?

Did you do the can test?


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