Chemical fertilizer should always, Always, ALWAYS, ALWAYS go onto dry grass. Then water it down so that it dissolves into the soil. Otherwise the fertilizer will burn the leaves of the grass when the dew comes tomorrow morning.

Dschall,

Thanks for the great advice! I went ahead and fertilized last Thursday evening. We had some rain overnight so I decided not to water. The yard looks a little greener as of today.

I have another question. Since this was a 15-5-10 fertilizer it obviously won't help the yard green up as much as one with a higher nitrogen content. I plan to use a 39-0-0 ratio mix for my next few applications (per TexasWeed). About how long should I wait before my next application?

With bermuda you can wait a full week :-)

Just kidding but not by much. Weed will tell you monthly is good to keep it looking great. Bermuda is a nitrogen hog.

Do I need to add top soil to my yard before I fertilize each year? If so, will any top soil work or do I have to buy expensive top soil like Scott's Turf Soil?

Rick,
Here I go!

NO YOU DO NOT NEED TO TOPDRESS WITH TOPSOIL.

Here's an photo of a yard where they top dressed 1/4 inch every year.

{{gwi:78979}}

The background of the picture is misleading. Homes in this neighborhood were built on high pads and the roads were cut in low. It is the hell strip that got the top dressing. Notice that over the years they have accumulated a heap of a lawn. There's 10 extra inches of soil there. I have lots of pictures of lawns where they have top dressed annually and have created one mess or another.

Thank you for your response about adding top soil.

So being a total novice when it comes to maintaining my yard, what would you recommend as a course of action to help thicken my grass (Bermuda/Tiff)and keep it green as we head into the hottest parts of the year for S. Texas?

My neighbors said that I needed to add topsoil to thicken it up...hence the prior question about adding top soil.