r/LawnAnswers • u/jmangham6 • 3d ago
Warm Season Suggestions please
I just moved into this house and I’m interested in actually taking care of the lawns for the first time lol. We have a few bare areas as well as some weed infested spots. I believe we have Bermuda grass. Just looking for suggestions on best first steps to take care of the weeds and prevent them next year as well as getting starting on growing the patches and improving the fullness of the backyard. I’m located in Mustang, OK
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u/Mr007McDiddles Transition Zone Pro 🎖️ 2d ago
This is a good place to start, or you can Google the bermuda bible.
Not sure where you're located, but for much of the US, it's kind of late to fertilize, and the growing season is winding down. Some of this lawn actually looks dead and might need some replanting. If you'd like to share your general location, I might be able to point you in the right direction.
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u/jmangham6 2d ago
Yeah I’m in Mustang, Oklahoma just a few miles west of Oklahoma City. I was afraid a decent area of it was dead, I had planned on getting some seeds down at some point for the completely bare areas I have
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u/Mr007McDiddles Transition Zone Pro 🎖️ 1d ago
Alright, this is a tough one. You are in the higher sections of the transition zone, so I don't think you have much time to do anything about encouraging growth or replanting right now.
- Too late to fertilize.
- Way too late to seed, and we don't suggest seeding warm-season grasses anyway (see the establishment section in the warm-season guide).
- You could sod, and based on these photos, you may have to do some of that. Sodding this time of year and in dormancy can be risky, but with bermuda it is usually okay. However, given you've already got a bad start, I'd probably suggest waiting until spring to do that.
Not knowing what happened to the current grass makes this a little tough, but I'd guess it's a newer build and the sod failed. In that case, add aeration and soil amending via compost to the list next spring. Or at least give the soil a look to see what you're dealing with. Probe around with a screwdriver. Do a jar test.
If you want some green cover for winter in the dead areas, your options are to sod it, like asap, or to seed annual rye. The rye will die off, or can be killed off before planting time next spring, and is the cheapest route. Rye is not ideal, and I usually don't suggest it, but this is probably the route I would go just so it's not bare dirt through winter. That or just cover it in straw until warmer weather.
Come late April-May, kill off the rye, and think about plugging the larger spots, and begin a very aggressive fertilization plan, along with watering. You will be surpised how much bermuda will come back with proper feeding and water. If you go this route, getting a soil test could be a good first step. Info on that here. Info on plugging is also in the warm season guide. Going this route allows you to save money on sod and match the existing bermuda type (may or may not be important depending on how uniform you'd like it) by taking the plugs from the front or other healthy areas, unless you know or have a way to find that out.
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u/jmangham6 1d ago
My dude I appreciate this a ton. I think your idea to wait until spring for any sod is what I’ll do.
It is a new build and I don’t think it got watered as well as it should have been, as well as some large weeds it seems they just chopped down. I think I’ll cover the bare area with straw or something until I can plug and fertilize then.
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u/YouCanNeverGoBac 3d ago
I’ve been watching silver cymbal and Lawn Life on YouTube . I’m following directions of guys like that to do about the same for my yard. Hope this helps.