I have a Bermuda lawn that was sodded a year ago. I live in Alabama and large parts of the lawn are brown. I tried to conserve water and maybe I overdid it. I have an irrigation system and have recently been putting down and inch a week for the last two weeks. However, I don't see the lawn greening up. I used Scott's Turfbuilder a week ago. How can I tell if the lawn is dead or dormant? Should I keep watering an inch a week? Any suggestions?
Your lawn isn't dormant. Bermuda should have been fully green a month or more ago. It is always possible that your lawn has a disease (brown patch comes to mind) Do you have a county extension agent you can call to look at the lawn?
What kind of fertilization (if any) did you do late last fall (say September or later)? Also, what kind of herbicides have you put down since last fall?
When was it sodded? Also what time frame was between the sod being put down and any pesticides being applied. How is the root system, can you pick up any sod?
It was sodded around the first quarter of 2005. I put down a pesticide a couple of weeks ago. You can't pick up the sod as it grew well until a couple of months ago when noticed the browning of large parts of the lawn. I ascribed it to a lack of water as it has been very dry here. I am now watering three times a week with about 1/2 inch each time for the last two weeks. I can't see any improvement yet. I would like to know if the brown spots are dead down to the roots, or if the roots are still good and the lawn will survive.
What pesticide did you apply to your lawn? Without seeing your lawn I can't say, perhaps have a local lawn care company come and look or post a picture to the internet.
If testing the soil and aerating it has not helped, you can consider prepping it with compost, DIY or store-bought. It's not too hard to grow a grassy lawn yourself and you can pick the right kind of grasses for where you live. It may be too cold for the grasses you have right now.
There are some other reasons your lawn may be dying. In some cases, white and brown patches may also be caused by a fungus. Fungal spores are naturally present in lawns and if the surroundings are favorable to their growth. Fungal diseases can stick around the soil and the sooner you work on identifying it, the better. If nothing suggested here works, it's worth checking out.
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