Lawn identification

[bwclordv]

Hello,

I’m new to lawns and backyard gardening overall and would like some advice on what type of lawn I have growing (that’s if it is a lawn). It seems as though it’s very fibrous and grows thick and spreads. I’m hoping I can let it cover my backyard and mow it I need some help identifying the name of grass.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Hey are you in Australia or Europe or where?

 

[Chuck]

Looks like Common Bermuda, a very popular lawn grass in the Southern US. It is very difficult to kill it out but it is easy for it to turn brown. It loves all of the sunshine it can get and doesn't grow in the shade very well. It must be kept watered or it will turn brown. It is very invasive and will take over gardens, flower beds etc. It should be fertilized twice a year to remain lush. This grass also is a habitat for chiggers. The mowing height should be 2 inches.

 

[roadrunner]

I agree, looks like Bermuda grass, which I use to have before mulching my entire yard and transforming it to a native landscape.

I can also attest to the fact that it loves (and needs) tons of sunshine; shade it out and it doesn't grow. When I did have it, it only grew on the east side of my property, because on the west side I had two trees (Live Oak & Southern Magnolia) that provided way too much shade, so another type of grass grew there.

 

[bwclordv]

Hey are you in Australia or Europe or where?

Hi, I live in Trinidad & Tobago

 

[bwclordv]

Looks like Common Bermuda, a very popular lawn grass in the Southern US. It is very difficult to kill it out but it is easy for it to turn brown. It loves all of the sunshine it can get and doesn't grow in the shade very well. It must be kept watered or it will turn brown. It is very invasive and will take over gardens, flower beds etc. It should be fertilized twice a year to remain lush. This grass also is a habitat for chiggers. The mowing height should be 2 inches.

Thanks for your response. Very good info. It does get 11-12 hrs of sun due to my location (Trinidad & Tobago). What fertilizer do you suggest I use?

 

[Chuck]

Thanks for your response. Very good info. It does get 11-12 hrs of sun due to my location (Trinidad & Tobago). What fertilizer do you suggest I use?

I don't know what types you have available there but I am a very firm believer in organic fertilizers for a number of reasons. If you use organic fertilizers you actually feed the soil and by doing so you will reduce insect and fungal problems greatly. Chemical fertilizers only feed the plant and are actually harmful to the soil by burning out the organic matter in the soil thus greatly reducing the living organisms which enable the plant to uptake nutrients and it leaves mineral salts behind which are in themselves harmful. By using chemical fertilizers you will find yourself spending more money on insecticides and fungicides. Chemical fertilizers are specific as to the time of applications and the amount. Organics are not. I could elucidate more on this subject but these are the more salient points.

 

[DirtMechanic]

One point might be about fungus and insects. In the heat, when humid conditions become common, the stage is set for fungal growth as well as insect invasion of burmuda. Just prior to this timing would be a great point in the cycle to apply such antifungal and insecticidal materials as you find useful in your area of the world. The application of a fertilizer at this time is not uncommon either, but feeding in the deep heat when plants get stressed also feeds fungus so many "jump" the hottest part of the season and just water or possibly only add micronutrients.

 

[bwclordv]

One point might be about fungus and insects. In the heat, when humid conditions become common, the stage is set for fungal growth as well as insect invasion of burmuda. Just prior to this timing would be a great point in the cycle to apply such antifungal and insecticidal materials as you find useful in your area of the world. The application of a fertilizer at this time is not uncommon either, but feeding in the deep heat when plants get stressed also feeds fungus so many "jump" the hottest part of the season and just water or possibly only add micronutrients.

Thanks for the great advice!

 

[sander474]

Pretty much Bermuda grass...

 

[DirtMechanic]

Pretty much Bermuda grass...

Given the number of creatures that eat burmuda, I now question why at least some gardeners have not tried burmuda shoots in a salad. Ah maybe its just a Holiday contemplation!

 

[bwclordv]

Update:

My Bermuda is coming along pretty well. I managed to get the nutsedge weeds under control, when I see one pop up I pull it out one time. However, I do seem to have another problem and I’m not sure if it’s a weed but I think it’s different lawn. It looks yellow in comparison to my lush green Bermuda. Can someone advise me on what I can do to get rid of it and also identify its name please. It also seems to be spreading below my Bermuda and is very invasive.

 

[Chuck]

Update:

My Bermuda is coming along pretty well. I managed to get the nutsedge weeds under control, when I see one pop up I pull it out one time. However, I do seem to have another problem and I’m not sure if it’s a weed but I think it’s different lawn. It looks yellow in comparison to my lush green Bermuda. Can someone advise me on what I can do to get rid of it and also identify its name please. It also seems to be spreading below my Bermuda and is very invasive.View attachment 63034View attachment 63035

It looks like a St. Augustine lawn grass variety named Floratam. The following link should be of some help. Fertilizing and watering more will enable the bermuda to choke out the other grass, no matter what kind it is.

PLANTanswers: Plant Answers > BE SURE YOU ARE GETTING FLORATAM ST. AUGUSTINE GRASS!!!

www.plantanswers.com

 

[Marck]

It would be good to see a flowering specimen, but the lighter green grass (shown in Post #12) might be Centipede-grass (Eremochloa ophiuroides) originally native to China, Hainan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam but now widely grown and escaped in other tropical and warm-temperate regions.

Update:

My Bermuda is coming along pretty well. I managed to get the nutsedge weeds under control, when I see one pop up I pull it out one time. However, I do seem to have another problem and I’m not sure if it’s a weed but I think it’s different lawn. It looks yellow in comparison to my lush green Bermuda. Can someone advise me on what I can do to get rid of it and also identify its name please. It also seems to be spreading below my Bermuda and is very invasive.View attachment 63034View attachment 63035