Lawns and heat

12 years ago

This happens to me every year and so it's time to ask. I have a bit (about 20x30) of Bermuda lawn (a mix of hybrid and regular) in my backyard. The lawn gets full sun in the morning through noon and then the north 1/2 of it is shaded by the house. There is a large pine in the front yard about 30 feet from the north end of the lawn; tall enough not to shade the lawn (probably because it's to the north). During growth season the lawn gets watered 3x/week putting down a 1/2+ inch each time. OK, so here's the annual scenerio:

The north section of lawn greens up the first followed by the south portion. Both look lush and great up until the extreme heat hits (as now). The lawn then slowly begins to act like an old man loosing his hair: takes on a slight silvery hue and the grass stems which grow appear thinner and more spaced (sparse). This appears more prominent in the north end and, in some past years, the north end has even almost died out. But the next spring, it's the first to turn lush....and the cycle repeats.

I'm stumped. The only thing that I can think of is that the roots of the pine tree sap the water from the soil in the north end when it gets hot and the pine gets stressed (although it gets a deep water once a month). Otherwise it seems to me that the south end of the grass would be more heat stressed since it doesn't get any shade to speak of.

OK: Probably too long but I wanted to give as much info as possible. Thanks for reading and if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. BTW: I fertilize once per month during the growth season and although I've thatched when it seems necessary, I've never done the plug-removal-aerating.

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Comments (5)

ra
12 years ago
Try lengthening the duration of your watering and also don't mow your grass too short. this way, less water will evaporate out of the ground.
xill
12 years ago
bermuda grass responds well to bi-weekly deep watering during summer months. watering for 1 hour, every other weekend at around 3am works well for me. deep watering will keep the roots healthier during the hot months. sounds like you're watering too shallow. also i second raimeiken's suggestion of keeping the grass longer (less work/pollution from mowing too). in these hotter months it's all about moisture retention. get and keep the roots deep where they can stay cooler and wetter for longer.
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tracydr
12 years ago
Bermuda is also a nitrogen hog. Maybe the heat and tree are robbing nitrogen? Perhaps try adding more organic sources of fertilizer before heat hits?
I noticed some of my heavy feeders in the vegetable garden needed some fish emulsion when we started getting hotter. I gave them the fish emulsion and leaves greened up within about three days.
I used to raise Bermuda for hay in OK.The extension agency would recommend 100-150 pounds of pure nitrogen/acre, depending on our soil test. If you do the math, that's a heck of a lot of fertilizer!
lazy_gardens
12 years ago
It's probably a little of each, but I would start by changing your watering habits.

http://ag.arizona.edu/azmet/phx/ tells you how to test your sprinkler output and how much to water.
neilaz
12 years ago
The silvery hue tells you it needs more water. Yes the tree will suck up lots of water. You need to water longer and less often but every other week seems like a stretch unless you are mowing awful high. But with the tree you will have to see what happens. When the grass turns silvery, step on it if it doesn't spring back it needs water. You may have grubs but i still think a water issue.