Growing Your Fescue Grass. Q. Gardens Alive! trademarks are registered trademarks of Gardens Alive! There are multiple types of Fescue to ensure that you can get the desired look you may want for your lawn. Bermuda grass is an invasive grass that can take over entire lawns over a period of two to three growing seasons. As long as you have sufficient sunlight in the back area and can water it deeply at least once a week, fescue should grow there as well. This will take care of any compaction issues that may have developed over the time you have had the fescue and ensure the best contact with the soil. However, Fescue grass is easier to get started and grows better during the winter months. Bermuda, St. Augustine, Centipede and Zoysia are all good choices. Treated growing lawn with Ornamec scalping out any Bermuda that may have reared its head. Bermuda grass can be over seeded with a variety of cool season grasses. You are suppose to allow zoysia to grow for two years before mixing it with fescue. Bermuda may be more of a hassle, if you have the time, money and passion for a spectacular lawn, it’s for you. While Bermuda, on average grows to be about two inches, Fescue can grow to be several feet long if left unattended. If you love your fescue (Festuca arundinacea) lawn, which grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 8, … Fescue is much easier to deal with and requires average maintenance like any other lawn. Give any bermuda clumps a light shot of grass killer. Even overseeding an existing sod lawn can help it resist foot traffic and adapt better to site conditions. Sign up today and be the first to know when a new article is posted and when there are special offers too! Your trees and shrubs need treatment as well! You need to channel the water elsewhere. Bermuda is known for being the luxurious green carpet on golf courses. Which the price of a good sod installation enough to pause anyone in their steps in the race for a better lawn, around $300 give or take depending on if you need your original lawn removed and to do it yourself would cost you equipment which can start around $900 plus the price of the sod itself which varies but is based on the square miles. Fescues will NOT choke - out a Bermuda grass lawn. Some say Kentucky 31 is a weed, but I don't agree with that. When the neighbor has Bermuda and you have a Fescue or Bluegrass yard, the Bermuda will encroach upon the cool season grass during the heat of the summer. © 2020 by Gardens Alive! Due to its overall appeal of green fairways on golf courses, it is often overlooked that Bermuda requires a more southern climate and maintenance. Since bermudagrass can usually crowd out fescue, your first job is to figure out how to make the bermudagrass thick. Please call or email us with any questions as we are co-operating within the guidelines and look forward to returning to business as usual as soon as possible. Bermuda grass does well in southern climates. So, which grass will you watch grow in your lawn? During this pandemic, we are going to change our practices and stop knocking on doors to minimize the exposure. Fescue, on the other hand, can withstand the cold better than its competitor and takes seed more easily. Can you grow fescue over Bermuda? I would say, 5,000 of that is Bermuda sod in the front with Tall Fescue clumps growing in it :( dchall~ Free Shipping on $75+ Orders (excludes overweight shipping). If you have a fescue lawn with Bermuda grass mixed in, you know how difficult it can be to kill only the Bermuda grass and leave the fescue intact. Steps in Over seeding Bermuda Grass Do not apply pre-emergence weed control in the three months prior to over seeding Tall fescue is grown as an "all or none grass," in that it is not compatible with bermudagrass. You will get notification once new article is posted. Bermuda can either be placed like sod or can be seeded using stolons and rhizomes; stolons are above the ground roots while the rhizomes are below ground. As we get into summer you will likely notice the fescue start to thin out and the bermudagrass begin to take over. Okay—that's close to perfect. Does water flow over the spot when it rains? It’s not just your lawn that needs year round care to be at it’s best. You should plant tall fescue seed in the fall, and it may require annual reseeding. You will need to till the area, then put the zoysia down. There are multiple types of Fescue to ensure that you can get the desired look you may want for your lawn. You have fescue, an evergreen, cool-season grass that is common in thinly growing bermudagrass lawns. Compared to blades of bermudagrass, tall fescue can be identified by its wide leaf blades that have equal-sized veins running parallel on the leaf. We had a full Bermuda lawn. First, Bermuda likes to be mowed low and fescue likes to grow taller. The short grass will allow sunlight reach the new … As far as seeding bermudagrass into the yard, I doubt that will help thin the fescue out any quicker. This is an unthrifty condition which often results in scalping. Maybe it needs aerating. Overseeding Mow the fescue low and use an aerator or dethatcher (slit seeder) to make lots of holes/grooves in the lawn. The time to plant bermuda seed is in mid-May. Copyright The Other Side Lawn Service, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. Over-fertilizing in one spot, spilling gas while filling the mower and using a grill hot enough to toast the grass underneath are all typical ways you might accidentally cause bare spots yourself. As long as the sun exposure is a minimum of 6 hours, bermuda will thrive. A. A. For instance, if you add 15% Kentucky Bluegrass to a fescue lawn, the bluegrass, with its spreading growth behavior and improved shade tolerance, will help fill in foot traffic and urine spots. Bermuda enters dormancy when temperatures drop, allowing fescue to grow above the Bermuda's browning blades for … Still, mixing the two grasses can help homeowners to keep a green-looking lawn all year … Inc. on Orders of $75 or more (excludes overweight shipping). Agrostis is right about the amount 2lbs per 1000. It may be time to sow bermuda as even attempts to remove it will leave gaps in the slow growing zoysia for years. It will not grow with any other grass to start with. It can be finicky and attract more weeds and requires a lot of watering. In this instance you don’t want to kill it all off and re-seed. We have a little over 12,000 sq ft of lawn. There are also hybrids of Bermuda that make that luscious green more attainable. Both kinds of grass, have some pros, and cons, so we are going to go over them in detail, so you can make an informed decision to which is right for you. One major drawback of bermuda grass is that it does not grow well in the shade – to the degree that if a lawn is primarily shaded, bermuda grass is not recommended as the turf of choice. The grass killer should do more damage to the bermuda than the fescue, at this stage. Bermuda is a warm-season grass that goes brown and dormant in the fall and winter, while fescue species are cool-season grasses that will be green in the fall, winter and spring. Fescue grass is often known to be good for its roots but does require attention when it comes to growth. The Other Side, Inc. has the experience, know-how and passion to help your lawn be the best it can be! So, I would just give your strategy a few more weeks before I gave up on it. While Bermuda, on average grows to be about two inches, Fescue can grow to be several feet long if left unattended. seed – posted 04 November 2001 21:51 In several separate areas, I have seen zoysiagrass encroach on bermudagrass during several years, taking it over … Can Bermuda Take Over Fescue?. If you have a shaded area with bermudagrass, or a smallbermuda area you are changing over to tall fescue, here is the plan to Combining these types of grasses allows those who live in moderate-to-warm climates to maintain a green lawn throughout the year. One of the pricier of the two, this grass has a whole process that needs to be done for it to even take root in your lawn. The Bermuda will eventually dominate and wherever summer temperatures may rise above 85 degrees F., Fescues will become heat-stressed and will weaken or die during droughts so the heat-tolerant Bermuda will take over ( if there is enough water). You may also notice that it has small hairs where the leaf blade meets the leaf stem. Do not over seed Bermuda grass with Tall Fescue or Kentucky Bluegrass since they will last well into summer and compete with your Bermuda grass. Weeds, Tall Fescue clump, and then bare dirt. However, if you live deep in the tropics, Fescue may not be the best choice. Tall fescue will use about the same yearly, as bermuda when it is overseeded for winter (summer and winter total). But that is up here in TN. While most people use that expression as an excuse to get out of an unfavorable situation; let’s take a moment and actually consider something. Fescue lawns (Festuca arundinaceae) have many opposite qualities to bermuda grass -- they grow best in a cool, shady environment and stay green in the winter. Do not over seed Bermuda grass with Tall Fescue or Kentucky Bluegrass since they will last well into summer and compete with your Bermuda grass. When you move into the hottest part of summer, the fescue will pretty much stop growing, but the bermuda will still be going strong. Tall fescue is also dark green in color but can grow to about three to four feet if left unattended. Fescue, on the other hand, will grow in much shadier conditions. Bermuda vs Fescue Grass may not be your go to when thinking of a pristine lawn, but maybe it should be. Is the soil hard? Q. Also, both types of grasses need nitrogen fertilizer, but on completely different schedules. It has a turf like completion that is luscious and is stunning emerald, but let’s take a closer look. It gets taller and has a heavy turf. Fescue grass is often known to be good for its roots but does require attention when it comes to growth. Fescue, on the other hand, can withstand the cold better than its competitor and takes seed more easily. Treated with pre-emergent. Your fescue has a chance to flourish come late fall and winter. Unless you’re really into lawn care, most people don’t really consider what type of grass they want in their yard but still find themselves looking at pictures of fields of billowing grass hills, far off countryside or even their neighbor’s lawn. Overseeded with Fescue. Warm-Season Grass Warm-season grasses, which grow well throughout the state, should be planted in the spring. Depending on your location, you may be able to grow both Bermuda and Fescue grass. Cool-season grasses like fescue thrive with a three-inch cut, while scalping lower than that would favor intrusion by a warm-season grass like Bermuda, which can tolerate a much shorter cutting height. Inc, All Rights Reserved. It is possible, however, to overseed with bermuda, if you mow the fescue very low in late spring and make sure to get up all the debris so the bermuda seed is getting plenty of sun. Can I convert my existing lawn to tall fescue by overseeding with tall fescue? Oops, there seems to be an error, please re-enter your email address. Fescue turned yellow, but quickly recovered during its cool growing season in the summer and about the same as 'full sun bermuda' does when fescue is grown in the shade during the summer. You will end up with a patchy lawn with clumps of tall fescue among bermuda. The downside is it's not a fine-blade fescue like some of the higher-priced grass seeds. I have also read you should put in zoysia around mid May to Mid June. Bermuda grass also grows aggressively, meaning it can take over an entire established lawn, spreading by above-ground and below-ground runners. Not necessarily enough to kill it, just enough to slow it. Although fescue lawns don’t require heavy maintenance, there are a few simple tasks you’ll need to complete in order to grow a healthy, full fescue lawn: Mowing—Planted fescue seeds need a few weeks to mature before being mowed. I suppose next year, the bare spots will have Bermuda growing in them like I'm seeing closer to the back of the house. Scalped it to remove Bermuda. Then, can you choke out Bermuda with fescue? While Bermuda may be the top of the line, it’s there for a reason. Ornamec successfully killed off Bermuda without damaging Fescue. Mow the Bermuda grass to 1 1/2 to 2 inches tall. In this case you can apply HiYield Triclopyr … NO. Bermuda grass and species of fescue are well-suited to be paired in a turf lawn. Here in Atlanta, many yards have bermuda in the front yard and fescue in the back. Free Shipping on Orders of $75 or more (excludes overweight shipping). So stop sitting on your porch overlooking death valley, start growing your own garden of Eden today. 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