Ryegrass is often paired with bermudagrass to create a green lawn year-round. The problem is, ryegrass can sometimes survive the shift to high temperature and choke out Bermuda and leave you with an uneven landscape come summer. Let’s look at how to kill ryegrass in bermuda.
How to kill ryegrass in Bermuda
Here are 5 certain habits and techniques on how to kill rye grass in bermuda.
Overseeding Concerns? No Problem
The most common issue involving a lawn overseeding of ryegrass and bermuda grass is that ryegrass tends to die when it’s time for the bermuda to thrive.
When this happens, ryegrass will likely overpower bermuda and weaken it. Ryegrass, whether annual or perennial can thrive and grow very quickly, just like weed so you have to make sure that it’s removed or becomes a non-factor for the bermuda grass to thrive.
Adopt a Progressive Mowing Habit
Most gardeners tend to overseed their lawns with bermuda once spring is about to end. The shift in climate from cool to hot should be enough to encourage warm-season grass bermuda to start growing while telling cool-season rye grass to back down.
If you’re averse to chemicals you can try to emulate nature with a trusty tool in your garden- the lawnmower. Start mowing the lawn in late spring and increase the length until you’re leaving one-inch blades. This will weaken ryegrass while simultaneously rejuvenating bermudagrass.
Supplement this routine with significantly reduced fertilizing and watering until you see bermuda grass emerging. Resume warm season watering and fertilization as needed for your bermuda.
Use a Herbicide
There are several chemical products you can use to eliminate rye grass in bermuda. These are categorized post-emergent herbicides and usually attack weeds while leaving bermuda grass relatively unharmed.
Some of the most effective ingredients in a rye grass herbicide include quinclorac, dicamba and 2,4-D, and glyphosate, which is an active ingredient that kills virtually every plant it comes across. That said, timing can play a vital role in ensuring that your bermuda is safe, and some components can be absorbed without affecting the bermuda grasses’ health.
Alternatively, if you’re not too keen on using glyphosate you can use other products, such as Ortho GroundClear. However, it’s worth noting that you can only use it while your bermuda is dormant, e.g., not green yet or else the chemical will attack the grass as well.
Specific product recommendations include Ortho Weedclear, BioAdvanced Lawn Weed and Crabgrass Killer, Roundup for the glyphosate variety, Corsair, Certainty and Revolver.
How to Remove Ryegrass From Bermuda
Glyphosate is best applied during winter as bermuda lies in dormancy. You can use it from December to January in USDA zones 9 through 12.
When using chemicals, you should read the label first and follow instructions. Wear long clothes and gloves for safety and protection, and applications usually will need you to water the lawn area with water to activate the ingredients. You can repeat the process several weeks after if there is still rye grass growing in the ground.
Removing rye grass while the bermuda lawn is still green can be quite tricky. If this is the case, then you may want to contact a professional lawn service to effectively remove rye in bermuda fast. Some herbicides are off-limits to consumers, but they usually have access to trifloxysulfuron, metsulfuron and foramsulfuron.
You can try to nip the bud early with a pre-emergent product such as Barricade. Applying it to your lawn will stop ryegrass seeds from forming so you won’t have to deal with the problem at a later time.
The Best Defense is a Healthy Bermuda Lawn
Sometimes all it takes is keeping your existing Bermuda grass healthy so there won’t be any weeds or other species you wouldn’t want growing in your garden.
Observe regular watering habits, keep your bermuda happy with fertilizer and mow them when they need it. Keep the soil well-draining yet rich with nutrients so the bermuda forms an internal defense system to kick out potential invaders.
How to kill ryegrass in bermuda: Final thoughts
If you live in a region where you can keep bermuda healthy all year round, then you wouldn’t have to rely on a herbicide to control weeds and ryegrass. A happy and healthy bermuda lawn should be enough to ward off these pesky plants and weeds as the season goes.
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