When to Plant Bermuda Grass Seed in Phoenix? We are now seeing many areas throughout the valley that have dead spots and patches that could use some grass to fill in better. Here are a few options to fill in these areas.
First, we recommend watering heavy and spreading turf fertilizer to see what areas fill in on their own. However, after that if you still are having problems with bare spots in your turf, you will either need to seed these areas or sod them to fill in more. We recommend trying to seed if you have time to wait for the seed to fill in, but if you have a party the upcoming weekend maybe sod is a better option for instant results. If seed is an option, we recommend buying a DIY bag of seed from Scott’s Turf Builder Bermuda Grass Seed. They say the 5 lb bag covers 5000 square feet but if your lawn is bare we find that it covers half of that amount or even less. Here is a link to purchase this product on Amazon:
There is a coating on this particular seed which will help this seed germinate. Bermuda is a difficult seed to germinate and we can only promise about 50% to grow. However, what we do find is that the existing grass combined with the heavy watering of the new seed ends with great results anyway and if you have small areas this is a great way to fill them in.
Prepping the area begins with making sure that the soil is exposed so that the seed can grow in the very best conditions with no layer of thatch or grass covering the top of the soil. Then spread the seed by hand if you have very small areas to cover or use a hand spreader since the seed is very small and works best with a much smaller spreader. Then we cover the soil with a very small layer of soil in order to assist in keeping the seed moist.
You will want to make sure we are at least 70 degrees at night or the seed will not germinate at all and the investment will be a waste of money. Once this work is done, watering is VERY important and key for the germination process. We recommend watering pop-up heads 3-5 minute cycles 4-6 times per day. The idea is to keep the seed moist for 2-3 weeks without puddling too much for this germination process to work. When your property has rotating sprinkler heads it will require longer water cycles (maybe 6-9 minutes). Of course this can really vary on how hot it gets and you may need more water when you are planting the seed and if some areas are more shaded, they may require less.
Please contact AMS Landscaping if you have any questions online at https://azlawns.com.
