The 411 on Maintaining a Bermuda Lawn
Posted on: 13 December 2016
If you are a homeowner, you may focus your time and energy on cleaning, updating, and maintaining the interior of your house. Painting walls, washing windows, and shampooing your rugs and carpet are all priorities, but you should also maintain your home's landscaping. Since it is the first thing neighbors, passerby, and potential buyers see, well-maintained landscaping can add enormous value to your house. From trees and shrubs to flower beds and hardscapes, there are many ways to improve your landscape. However, making sure your lawn is healthy, green, and lush should be first on your agenda. With this guide, you will understand the steps necessary to maintain a healthy, appealing, and valuable Bermuda lawn.
Mowing
Bermuda lawns will turn green in the spring season after being brown and dormant during parts of fall and all of winter. Once the lawn turns back to green, you should begin mowing.
Most lawns with Bermuda grass look better cut at a shorter height, so you should set your mower blades to 1 ½ to 2 ½ inches. Many people prefer to mow less, so they will cut the lawns to an even shorter height. However, this can potentially kill the grass blades. A better alternative is to mow at the recommended heights more frequently.
Mow your lawn regularly up until the fall season, when the grass will begin to brown.
Watering
Water is essential for life, and this applies to your lawn as well. While fescue grass requires a great deal of water to remain green and healthy, Bermuda lawns do not require frequent watering once established.
If your lawn shows the following signs, it is most likely in need of water:
- Dull green or bluish color
- Rolled, folded grass leaves
- Grass showing footprints
Watering the grass using sprinklers for a few minutes will reduce your lawn's drought stress. To determine whether you have applied sufficient water, place empty tuna cans at various spots in your lawn. When the water fills these cans, you can turn off your sprinklers.
Fertilizing
Wait until the last frost passes to fertilize your Bermuda lawn. This will usually occur in the early part of spring when the grass first starts to turn green. Apply a fertilizer that contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are key nutrients for most Bermuda lawns.
Fertilize your lawn every few weeks during the spring, summer, and fall to ensure it remains green and healthy. If you are using dry pellets, apply the fertilizer in a push-behind spreader. If you are using liquid, pour the fertilizer spray into an outdoor pump sprayer and apply evenly across the lawn.
Weeding
Crabgrass is one of the most common weeds you will face when maintaining your Bermuda lawn. This hearty weed develops fast, spreading across your lawn and taking over your Bermuda grass. Fortunately, preventing crabgrass is possible.
In the spring, apply a preemergent herbicide to your lawn. This will prevent crabgrass and other weeds from developing in your lawn. Apply a postemergent herbicide to weeds that have already sprouted in the lawn. Once the herbicide has killed the weeds, they will turn brown. You can pull the dead weeds out of the lawn using your hands, if preferred.
Continue applying postemergent herbicides to kill weeds as needed. This herbicide can be used all through the summer and fall seasons.
Your lawn acts as a backdrop for your overall landscape design, so maintaining this plot of grass is imperative for your home's appeal and value. With these tips, you will understand how to maintain your Bermuda grass to ensure your landscaping and curb appeal is attractive and valuable. Click for more.
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