How to Make Bermuda Grass Grow Thicker

The beauty of a home is having a luxuriously green and thick lawn.

Such a lawn reflects a lot on you and also adds an elegant look to your property. Planting a deep green and thick Bermuda lawn can improve the overall look of your home.

From weed infestation to low amounts of water, There are number of reasons that can cause bermuda do grow thin.

Whatever the reason, we will help you out with this article to make your bermuda grass thicker and back to its glory.

Ways to make your Bermuda grass lawn thicker

1. Mow your lawn more frequently

Mowing your lawn frequently is the first and most important step in making your grass thicker.

This will help your grass to spread and grow on the ground and eventually become thick since Bermuda grass tends to grow vertically which decreases its thickness.

You should mow a bit lower like an inch lower than you’re used to. This means you need to use the right mower for your grass type.

Bermuda grass has two varieties which include hybrid and common Bermuda grass so the mowing height is also different.

For the hybrid Bermuda grass, the mowing height is 1 ½ inch while the common Bermuda grass is 1 inch.

After mowing, water your grass and check or add some fertilizer.

2. Water your grass

Your Bermuda will grow better when the root has enough water and it will help the roots get nutrients from the ground.

Bermuda grass is drought tolerant and watering it once a week for 3-5 hours instead of short intervals throughout the week to encourage deep root growth to help the grass stay green even when it’s hot and dry.

The water will penetrate deeply into the soil so the roots dig deeper instead of forming a shallow foundation.

3. Aerate your lawn

Making small holes in your lawn using an aeration tool will help air, nutrients, and water to penetrate the roots of the grass properly.

This will help the roots grow more deeply into the soil to produce a stronger lawn.

Aeration mostly helps in reducing soil compaction, especially if your lawn has clay soil or hard-packed soil.

Aerated soil has many solid particles, organic debris, and heavy lawn thatch that occupy a lot of space that prevent proper circulation of water, air, and nutrients that can cause poor root development.

4. Apply fertilizer

For a beautiful lush green and thick lawn, fertilize your lawn in spring and early summer. But before applying you should test your lawn soil first.

If your Bermuda is thin because of low fertilizer levels, then you should increase the fertilizer levels.

The best fertilizer for Bermuda grass is the NPK with a ratio of 4 (Nitrogen), 1 (Phosphorous), and 2 (Potassium).

Applying enough slow-release fertilizer on your lawn will help stop weeds and diseases and make it more drought resistant because Bermuda grass tends to thin out during the drought season.

5. Apply pre-emergent herbicide

A lawn with weeds will tend to show signs of patchiness and thinning and if these are signs that recur every year, you should use a pre-emergent herbicide in early spring to prevent crabgrass and quackgrass weeds from germinating and choking your Bermuda grass.

If your lawn is heavily infested with weeds, apply pre-emergent every 60-90 days.

Avoid applying a pre-emergent during the hot months of June through to August because it can negatively affect the growth and development of your lawn.

Also read -> Will Bermuda Grass take over Weeds

6. Apply post-emergent

There are times when you already have weeds growing in your lawn, so you’ll need a post-emergent to get rid of crabgrass and other broadleaf weeds.

You can opt to remove the weeds by uprooting, use a pot-emergent, or other methods.

Apply the post-emergent on the affected areas of your lawn to kill the weeds in those spots.

Note that, weeds like quackgrass can be difficult to control because they spread their roots underground.

You’ll need a serious plan on how to get rid of this weed if it has infested a big part of your lawn.

7. Treat for lawn diseases

If you’ve done everything mentioned earlier and your Bermuda grass isn’t growing properly, it could have a fungal infection that will affect its growth and health.

Some common fungal infections like dollar spot, spring dead spot, and brown patch disease can also cause slow growth and thinning of your lawn grass.

Root rot disease will affect the roots and lead to poor growth and a thinning lawn.

Spring spot starts as small circular patches that spread to larger areas. This disease shows up in spring and is caused by applying excess nitrogen to your lawn.

Dead rot is caused by poorly aerated soil and some lawn insects like Japanese beetles and grub thin out your lawn.

You should find out the disease affecting your lawn so you can easily manage and make your Bermuda grass thicker.

Tips for growing Bermuda grass in the shade

After reading the information above, you already know Bermuda grass can do well in areas with light shade, but you should avoid planting it in areas with full shade.
You should cut down tall trees or shrubs that may be blocking the sun from reaching certain areas of your lawn.
If you can’t remove a big tree on your lawn, consider trimming some of its branches to provide a canopy instead of full shade. The dappled sun is better than no sun for your Bermuda grass.
If you can’t provide more sunlight to some of the shaded areas on your lawn, you can reduce the foot traffic and also keep your pets away in these areas to avoid stressing your grass.
Mow the shaded areas less often and use a higher cutting height so the grass blades have more surface area for photosynthesis.

Also read -> Does Bermuda Grass Grow In Shade

Different types of lawns

When choosing a lawn grass variety, there are certain factors you should consider before planting the lawn grass on your turf.

Grass-type	Growth rate	Sunlight requirement	Growth season	Drought tolerance	Heavy foot traffic tolerance	Care requirements
St. Augustine	Moderate	Can tolerate shade	Warm-season	Good	Moderate	Very sensitive to herbicides
Tall fescue	Fast	Sunlight	All year round	Good	Poor	Mix 15% Kentucky bluegrass to fill it
Creeping red fescue	Slow	Sunlight to semi-shade	Cool-season	Good	Moderate	Little mowing required
Kentucky bluegrass	Moderate	Can tolerate the shade	Cool-season	Poor	Good	Avoid exposure to full sun

Final thoughts

It takes a lot of hard work to make something beautiful and when it comes to making your Bermuda grass grow thicker, there are several steps you should follow to achieve this.

With proper maintenance, you can achieve the thickness that you want for your Bermuda grass.