Yes it's possible but what about when summer rolls around and the bermuda chokes out the fescue? Bermuda beats fescue every time.
What have you done to supress the bermuda?

Other than abiding by the general rules here for healthy cool season grasses regarding watering, mowing, fertilizing etc., I've applied a few applications of post emergent products specific for Bermuda supression. I think the latest was from Bayer.

If you have any other suggestions, I'm all ears.

Personally I think your chances of success are about ZERO. By summer whatever Fescue germinates will be weak and burnt up by summer. What doesnÂt burn up will be chocked out by the Bermuda. Sorry I know that is not what you want to hear, but you are going about it all wrong.

To do it right you would use late July and August to kill off the Bermuda and be ready in fall for a fescue planting.

How long did you give the bayer stuff to work?

I've seen bermudagrass destroy lawns as far north as ohio and during the summer there seems to be only one thing that helps fescue whilst harming bermuda and that's shade.

Shade isn't going to suddenly kill the bermuda. Hell, it probably won't kill it at all but what it will do is drastically shorten it's season so that by the time August rolls around, it's out of gas. It won't spread as agressively in shade. It will give your chemical arsenal half a chance.

What you need are some tulip poplars bordering your yard. They grow 4 or more feet a year and get really tall, casting a glorious filtered shadow over the lawn. Fewer hours of sun will give the fescue a break during the summer but since tulip trees lose their leaves early in the fall the fescue will have the sun it needs in the autumn and spring to explode with vigor.

The lawn doesn't need to be directly underneath a tree. The object is just casting a shadow. In the morning and afternoon will help. Some nice things about tulip poplars are they don't have lot of surface roots like maples so a good lawn tree. The fall color is usually excellent and when the leaves drop bright yellow and sit there on the dark green fescue it looks great. They are easy to grow, fairly easy to find and they're cheap. These are huge trees though. Luckily there are varieties that don't grow as big or as wide but since you need shade yesterday, this is the tree for you. The flowers are another bonus. If you plant them close together they will grow more narrow like a forest and rocket upwards towards the sky. Mine grow about 6 feet a year.

Why not have a bermuda lawn? This is my 3rd season with bermuda--100% established from seed in the south Wake county area! No--it wasn't easy but well worth it now and for the long run. I was sick of fescue as it just doesn't get as thick and costs so much more to maintain (more water, more cutting, more fertilizer, more subject to disease, has to be over-seeded each year, etc). I think my lawn will be VERY nice this summer as it has gotten more dense each growing season. Last August my lawn was voted lawn of the month by our HOA. I'm going for lawn of the season this year :)

Just wait until our temps go up, fertilize and water, and enjoy a bermuda lawn for the summer. When the bermuda goes dormant in late November, plant annual rye for a green winter lawn and kill it off next March so your bermuda can green-up nicely for the next growing season. This way your lawn will be green for nearly 11 months of the year. I'm glad that I made the switch and you'll regret it if you go with fescue--at least I think you will.

weigojmi,

If you have irrigation or a small yard you can manage without irrigation, then you can achieve some success.

If you really want to supress the bermuda, you can do two things:

1.- Dig out the patches of bermuda (if you decide to do this let me know and I will tell you how to best do it so bermuda will not come back)

2.- Forget fescue for this Spring overseeding and get some Perennial Ryegrass (turf-type) which you can find at Lowe's or HD, then scalp the bermuda patches as much as you can, put down some topsoil, then seed, fertilizer, and water everyday for the next 2 weeks.

Where in NC are you located?

BTW, bermuda hates PRG...

Thanks for the replies. I'm just north of Charlotte.

I don't think going Bermuda is a good option. I'll have to check but it actually may not even be allowed in our neighborhood.

My fescue is finally starting to look good and I'd say only about 20% of the lawn is mixed with Bermuda patches (for now anyway). I'd appreciate mroe advice geared towards supressing/removing it.

To be honest, it doesn't look bad with the fescue when both are going strong. Problem is, as you know, that's not a big part of the yeat.

If you are just north of Charlotte, Bermuda is one of your best options. Depends on your soil PH. If the PH is very low your only real good choice is Cetiweed aka Centipede.

Once again, a Texan farmer recommending a grass type for NC...lol... You are becoming as anoying as bermuda in a fescue lawn...

Weigojmi, you must be in Huntersville or Mooresville? I know Charlotte very well, I go there on business once per month. Love the Uptown... I'm in Cary, justs west of Raleigh.

Fescue/bluegrass mix is going to be your best choice. Bermuda is nothing more than a pesky weed in the Charlotte area. Again, if the area is small, you can seed now and have success as long as you keep the new turf hydrated during droughts.

Last year, for testing purposses, I seeded a 20x20 area with Perennial Ryegrass in the middle of July. The seeds germinated very quickly (the soil was warm) and went on to live for the rest of the season. We did have irrigation, and it was used to cool off the seedlings and to prevent them from drying out. Eventually they reached maturity within a few weeks.

If you really want to get rid of that pesky bermuda weed, now is the time to do it. Dig it out and replant fescue/bluegrass seed. Be sure to dig a least 10 inches deep and a few inches out from the infested area.

There're a few blends/mixes of fescue/bluegrass at Lowe's and HD. For testing purposses, I purchased a small bag in the fall last year. It came out great! It's dark green and fine to medium bladed. You can easely spot the bluegrasses.

You are making the right decision by keeping your Fescue lawn, Bermuda is not a recommended grass for the Charlotte area. As you know, our weather is moderative cold and mild for most of the year, and warm to hot for 3 months - not exactly the eviroment for a tropical grass to thrive.

Anyway, keep us posted of your project and post some pictures when you can.

Regards,

Auteck

Auteck, thanks for the advice and yep, I'm in Mooresville.

I'm hesitant to dig up the bermuda in such a manner as its scattered in many places and would would require a good bit of lawn "surgery". But if thats the only option, so be it. I can live with it if I could be sure its not going to spread and take over the lawn. Was hoping "supression" techniques as I mentioned would be effective.

I have planted a fescue/KBG blend for the last couple years that has turned out pretty nice so far (Scott's Pure Premium)

I'm hesitant to dig up the bermuda in such a manner as its scattered in many places and would would require a good bit of lawn "surgery". But if thats the only option, so be it.

It is not the only option and may or may not work. Here is what sod farmers do: solarization sterilization

Wait until mid June and fertilize the Bermuda, and keep it watered and mowed in pristine condition. You want it growing fast, vigorous, and healthy. Then the first of July hit it with Round Up, wait a week and hit it with RU again. Wait another week, mow and rake up the clippings. Then cover the area with heavy clear plastic and seal the edges with soil to trap air and moisture.

Leave it cooking for 4 weeks until the soil temp hits 140 to 150 degrees to a 6 inch depth. Remove plastic, re-inoculate with a thin layer of compost or any organic material because the soil will be sterile. You are then ready for a Fall cool season grass planting free of all diseases, insects, weeds, and Bermuda until Mother Nature brings it back.

Nascar fan?

I've got to take a trip down to Lowe's Motor speedway for a Karting session...

Stay away from the Heat tolerant Blue, it does not have the real Kentucky Bluegrass.

I might suggest the Pennington Kentucky Bluegrass/Fescue mix/blend. Great results from the Fall seeding last year.

My lawn is 100% bluegrass, ryegrass mix/blend. Very dense and very dark green. My backyard is mix and blend as well of common kentucky bluegrass, Fine Fescue (red) elite bluegrasses, and Perennial Ryegrass. It does great in the summer, in the winter looks rough though.

Anyway, post some pictures when you can. If you don't know how to post them, send me an email and I will post them for you.

auteck@yahoo.com

Regards,

Auteck

Texas, that's interesting. Never heard of that. I'll keep that option handy...

Auteck, ironically not a Nascar fan but have been to a couple races. Its a good time but not something I would do every weekend. :) Please elaborate on the "heat tolerant blue" comment. What is it then?

weigojmi,

The "heat tolerant blue" is nothing more than 3 different types of TTTF (about 94% of the bag) and Hybrid Bluegrass (about 5%) (1% weeds seeds) which is a cross between Texas Bluegrass and Kentucky Bluegrass.

The hybrid bluegrass looks just VERY much like most Tall Fescues. It doesn't have the fine blades, the dark green color, and density of Kentucky Bluegrass. A few of my neighbors have seeded that blend for a few years, the results are disappointing in my opinion. It makes a decent turf, but not dense enough or dark green.

The real Kentucky Bluegrass grows well in your area with the proper care, so why bother with the "wanna be" kentucky bluegrass.

There's a McDonals off of I-85 from Charlotte via Spartanburg, SC, located in Kings Mountain, NC; the entire lawn is Kentucky Bluegrass. It looks wonderful, always green. Of course, they have irrigation and a Lawn care company caring for the grass.

I'm not a Nascar fan either, but I watch it from time to time. I'm, however, a Formula 1 fan, Rally, and MotoGP.

Back to grass talk, the solarization sterilization process is used in Bermuda Sod Farms to intruduce a new type of bermuda grass in the existing site/soil. I've never done it, so I don't if it will work or not. I have, however, used roundup and a tiler to succesfully get rid of any bermudagrass. I did wintness once one of my neighbors dig a section (about 5x5) of bermuda infested fescue sod to about 4 inches deep, the replace with new fescue/bluegrass sod. That was 3 years ago, today that area (which I remember well because it's near his mailbox) has not shown any signs of bermuda coming back - it's all fescue and bluegrass.

You can order Elite type bluegrass from different sources in the internet, one of them is: www.turf-seed.com

The carry the Galaxy Blend which works very well in NC.

Hey all, wow I accidentally stumbled upon this thread googling something else...however, this topic is still very relevant.

I've come a long way in my law care methods and knowledge in the last few years but I never did anything about the Bermuda. I suppose mainly because as my lawn-care techniques improved so did the overall quality of my lawn. The problem that still remains is that my lawn is probably ~35% Bermuda now. I've toyed with the idea of trying the new selective herbicide Pylex as I've read "on another forum" some have had success. But its still very expensive and I haven't pulled the trigger. Other than the large % of Bermuda in my lawn I also still do not have irrigation so I must admit I've focused on improving what I have the last few years as opposed to fixing the Bermuda problem. Killing all of it just seems so daunting and I have watched neighbors fail over and over again at it. Both my neighbors have plenty of the stuff and best case I eradicate mine and theirs comes on over for an extended visit.

So I think I will continue to overseed fescue in the fall. It seems my biggest problem year to year is getting good seed to soil contact and germination trying to seed in to the "bermuda mats". Any suggestions how to improve my success rates?

Well well. Welcome back.

You never did answer my question about mowing height. I asked because it is possible to raise the grass height high enough to weaken bermuda. It happens every winter in the south with owners who overseeded with rye in the fall. The rye persists and persists into the late spring and sometimes their bermuda never kicks all the way in. The reason is that the rye shades the bermuda and weakens it.

I have been successful year after year pushing bermuda all over the place by raising the mowing height in my St Augustine. St Aug is much more coarse than fescue or even rye, so it might work better to force the bermuda out. I am starting another project at a new home I just moved in to. There is a total of 3 square feet of St Augustine. It's barely hanging on near the walkways where the water runs off the concrete and super soaks the soil. Otherwise the lawn is in ruins with plenty of horse herb and some other native grass I have yet to identify. But I have high hopes that the St Aug will prevail by mowing it at 12 (twelve) inches. Hope the neighbors are good with that ;-) We shall see.

So for you, if you can set your mower to the highest position, and get the fescue dense in the fall and tall in the spring, then I think you have a shot at getting rid of some of the bermuda. Scalp the bermuda patches down now, seed more fescue, and go for it.

Sorry for jumping into this thread. Hope you will be able to help. Live in Chapel Hill and have a problem with my grass all the time. I have mostly fescue on my yard. I’m using lawn maintenance company. At the beginning we used one company that maintained yard well but they wanted to raise prices so I switched. This company in a year succeeded to destroy most of the grass. We started to have bold patches. In addition, Bermuda grass from my neighbor started to invade our property and establish there. At this point we switched back to previous company. To keep Bermuda away he recommended to dig a line in between our yards and place timbers. We did it. After that he killed at the beginning of August all the Bermuda grass we had and in September aerated and reseeded fescue. He put topsoil in several places where it was needed based on his opinion. Looks like the grass started to establish. I’m trying to understand myself how should this lawn be treated. In addition we have shaded area on a side that stays without grass every year despite numerous attempts to grow grass there. Currently he added topsoil there snd recommends to remove a few trees there to open up this space. We also have areas with a slope that have problems as well. Currently he added topsoil there. We are watering all the time. Got a phone call from water company because probably our bill is going to be very very high so they wanted to know what is going on but we watered the way he told us to water which us every day for 20 minutes. So what would you recommend doing to keep this yard healthy. I think I will add some pictures later. Thank you got your help.