Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) is a popular warm-season turfgrass used widely across the Southern United States and other hot, arid climates. Whether this grass is a good choice depends on the owner’s expectations, local climate, and commitment to maintenance. Bermuda grass offers exceptional durability and high aesthetic potential, but these benefits come with significant trade-offs in terms of maintenance and invasiveness.
Key Strengths of Bermuda Grass
Bermuda grass is highly valued for its natural adaptation to intense heat and prolonged dry periods once established. It possesses an extensive, deep root system that can reach six feet or more into the soil, accessing moisture unavailable to other turfgrasses. This deep rooting makes it highly tolerant of drought conditions. During extreme heat, it enters a state of dormancy, turning a straw color, but its root crowns remain alive and quickly recover once moisture returns.
The grass is renowned for its durability and rapid recovery, making it the preferred choice for high-traffic areas like athletic fields and golf courses. It spreads vigorously through above-ground stolons and below-ground rhizomes, allowing it to quickly fill in damaged or thin spots. When properly maintained, Bermuda grass forms a dense, fine-textured turf with a vibrant green color.
The Aggressive Nature and High Maintenance Demands
The aggressive growth habit that provides durability also makes Bermuda grass highly invasive and difficult to manage in garden beds and neighboring landscapes. It spreads relentlessly using its stolons and deep rhizomes, which can burrow under shallow barriers. This creeping nature means it will quickly colonize flower beds and vegetable gardens unless constantly edged and controlled.
Maintaining a lush, dense appearance requires high levels of inputs. It has one of the highest nitrogen requirements of any warm-season grass, often needing four to five pounds of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet annually. Frequent watering is also necessary during the growing season, typically requiring one to 1.25 inches of water per week to maintain a deep green color and prevent summer dormancy.
As a warm-season grass, Bermuda grass enters dormancy when soil temperatures consistently drop below 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. This natural survival mechanism causes the grass to lose its chlorophyll and turn a uniform tan or straw-brown color. This dormant, brown period can last for several months until soil temperatures rise again in the spring.
Managing Bermuda Grass for Optimal Turf Quality
Achieving high-quality Bermuda turf requires a commitment to a demanding and specific mowing regimen. To promote maximum density, it must be mowed at a low height, typically between 0.5 to 1.5 inches. This low cutting height necessitates very frequent mowing, often multiple times per week during the peak growing season, to avoid removing more than one-third of the blade length.
The rapid growth of the grass leads to a significant buildup of thatch, a dense layer of partially decomposed organic matter. If this thatch layer exceeds a half-inch in thickness, it restricts water and nutrient movement and causes a spongy feel when walking on the lawn. Periodic dethatching or verticutting is necessary in late spring or early summer during active growth to remove this buildup and maintain turf health.
Weed control involves a combination of preventative and corrective measures. The use of pre-emergent herbicides in early spring and fall is standard practice to prevent weed seeds from germinating. Existing weeds require post-emergent herbicides, which must be carefully selected to target the weeds without damaging the Bermuda grass. Maintaining turf health through proper mowing and fertilization is the most effective long-term strategy for minimizing weed intrusion.