I live in Snellville, GA (suburb of Atlanta) and I need to get my Bermuda grass to grow. What do I do?

George T
by George T
It's very sparce. It's never been properly taken care of in the past. It's a newer subdivision but I've only lived here since August. I really want to get my grass thick and healthy. I've hit it with fast acting lime, halts and am about to put down some weed and feed before spreading some seed. If this is the wrong approach, please advise.
  4 answers
  • 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) on May 01, 2012
    George, I would really do a soil test before adding anything else and see what the results are. If you are over run with broad leaf weeds you could go ahead and get those out with a selective weed killer such as Trimec (2-4D) A couple of questions if you don't mind. Do you have an irrigation system? Is it in full sun or part sun? Is your soil compacted or hard? How long ago did you apply the Halts? How old is the lawn? Can you tell if it has a thatch layer? I don't mean to insult you with the next question, but are you positive it is Bermuda? I can probably help you get started with a little more information provided.
  • George T George T on May 01, 2012
    I'm asking for help because I honestly don't know so no insult here. I really appreciate your input. I just want a nice lawn. It's not overrun with broad leaf weeds. I just used applied IMAGE to get rid of the nutsedge which is mostly what I have. No irrigation system. Partial sun on the sides and half a day in front and half in back. Soil is pretty darn compacted. I applied halts about a month ago. The lawn is about 6 years old. There's not a thatched layer. It is definitely Bermuda grass.
  • 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) 360 Sod (Donna Dixson) on May 01, 2012
    ok. I still highly recommend a soil test. You can take a soil sample to county extent ion and for under $10 you can find out what is going on with your soil. In the interim I recommend that you aerate and top dress to work on that compaction problem. After the soil sample comes back you will know what you need nutrition wise for your Bermuda. Are you sure you are getting at least 6 hours of sun on all parts of the lawn? If not then we need to go at this from another direction. You may need to go with an alternative grass or no grass in the areas with less sun.
  • Walter Reeves Walter Reeves on May 01, 2012
    Don't forget to irrigate heavily a day before you aerate so the aerator tines go deeply into the soil. I too am concerned if you have enough sunshine for bermuda.