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Bermuda grass is also known as wiregrass is a lush, green grass that thrives in hot climates.
They are planted throughout South Carolina and are used on tennis courts, athletic fields, and on golf courses.
If you reside in an area where the sun is scorching and you are wondering about the type of turf grass to grow on your lawn, then you should go for Bermuda grass, it is drought and pest resistant.
One thing about Bermuda grass is that it comes with thatch problems. This article will help you to see when to dethatch Bermuda grass.
How to Get Rid of Thatch in Bermuda
Thatch is the layer of dead plant material like; roots, crowns, stems, and rhizomes that have not yet decomposed micro by organisms in the soil.
A very thick layer of thatch can prevent many things from coming in contact with the soil, things that are beneficial to the soil such as:
- Nutrient
- Oxygen
- Water
These won’t be able to penetrate the soil and create the balance needed there.
The thatch layer can accommodate pests and disease pathogens. When the thatch in soil accumulates over time, there’s a possibility that roots will start growing from the thatch rather than from the soil.
Before carrying out the detaching process, estimate the amount of thatch that needs to be removed, because when you carry out detaching often and on, your lawn could get permanently damaged.
Tips on how to get rid of thatch in Bermuda:
- Mow the Bermuda grass slightly shorter and irrigate it lightly.
- Dethatch the lawn twice, this should be done in both the horizontal and vertical directions so you’ll be able to gather all the thatch without leaving out a spot.
- Rake up the debris left on your lawn.
- Give your lawn enough irrigation.
- If you see any need for reseeding your lawn, then go ahead.
- Fertilizer should be applied a few weeks afterward to improve new growth, but be mindful of the amount and type of fertilizer, it should be light.
You may have to dethatch your lawn once or twice a year, this depends on how much and how fast your
A half-thick layer of thatch can prevent weed germination, and water evaporation and it protects the lawn from injuries caused by high-impact traffic.
Read Also:
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- How To Tell If Your Lawn Needs Lime [ 7 top signs].
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When Should Dethatch Bermuda?
Dethatch when the Bermuda grass is actively growing and you expect there are at least 45 days of promising weather left in the growing season.
Make plans to carry out the dethatching in mid to late spring or early fall. Bermuda grass should be dethatched when it is actively growing in spring, from March through April.
We recommend you dethatch your Bermuda grass If it does not go stagnant in winter, do this in March.
It’s not ideal to dethatch dormant or slow-growing Bermuda grass. Dethatching dormant grass may cause serious damage to your lawn and might even kill the grasses. Dethatch Bermuda grass only when the thatch layer is more than 1/2 inch thick.
Avoid dethatching your Bermuda grass when temperatures are above 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, avoid dethatching when elongated dry periods are expected.
To carry out the process of dethatching your lawn, using a vertical mower would be the best apparatus. These apparatuses have vertical knives that cut through the grass and pull thatch to the surface for removal.
The blades should penetrate the top half of the thatch; dethatch in one direction and then repeat at a 90-degree angle from the first pass.
You might have to dethatch extremely deep thatches several times during a growing season at modest depths to avoid yanking the grass up by the roots.
If your thatch is less than a 1/2 inch deep, you should, first of all, aerate it before dethatching it. Aerating does less damage to the grass than dethatching.
If your grass doesn’t turn green after you fertilize it or you have worn areas on your lawn, you may need to aerate it once or twice a year.
Dethatching causes more damage to the grass, which then has to recover, and sometimes they don’t. You should only dethatch if your thatch is more than 1/2 inch deep.
Can you dethatch Bermuda in summer?
Dethatching can cause real damage to a lawn, so do it when the lawn will have an adequate chance to retrieve. It’s not a good idea to dethatch when there’s a drought or a heat wave.
There should be about 45 days of good growing situations after you dethatch so the grass will recover without weeds taking over.
Dethatching warm-season grasses in fall will make them weak in winter. The best time for dethatching Bermuda grass in most areas is “late spring or early summer” when they are growing and producing new shoots.
Cool season grasses don’t need dethatching, but if they do, the best time leans towards early fall.
Before carrying out this process of dethatching your Bermuda grass, mow the Bermuda grass just lower than usual and lightly water the lawn. dethatching your lawn can be an aspect of your annual lawn maintenance regimen.
Coming after dethatching, rake up other remaining debris on your lawn and dispose of them.
What time of the year is best for dethatching?
Dethatching your lawn helps reduce dead grass and other organic matter that has accumulated over time but has not broken down over the fall and winter months.
You will do your lawn a whole lot of good once you dethatch it, you will be creating an avenue for improved absorption of oxygen, and nutrients and a lawn that drains water properly.
A general rule of thumb for dethatching your lawn is to wait until they’ve been mowed a couple of times.
When your lawn is actively growing and the soil is relatively moist, that would be the best time to dethatch your lawn.
Before you carry out this process, you should observe the type of turf grass you have on your lawn, if it’s cool-season grass or warm-season grass.
The time of the year best for dethatching cool-season grass is early spring or early fall. Here are some examples of cool-season grasses:
- Rough bluegrass
- Fescue
- Ryegrass
- Kentucky bluegrass
While the time of the year best for dethatching warm-season grasses is in late spring through early summer. Here are some examples of common warm-season grasses:
- Zoysia
- St. Augustine
- Bermuda
- Bahia
- Centipede
If your lawn is prone to building up thatch over time then, you should consider dethatching your lawn once a year.
