I would definitely bring the mower up a little for this season.

I have the same exact problem and really the only long term fix is to get some top soil and to level out the whole yard so its all even.

Because even if you scalp it next year, you are still gonna have low spots. It's the soil level that is the problem, not the grass length.

I definately agree that I need to do some leveling of the yard. I dont get an even cut, range is probably .5 inches to 2 inches tall or even sligthly higher in the lowest spots. I am planning to start leveling next season.

But the scalped spots are dispsered throughout the lawn, not just in the high spots that are getting cut the lowest.

I'm wondering if the lawn will adjust to the new height where I am currently cutting to? Or am I going to kill the sod by taking all the leaf off down to the stems, preventing it from growing back?

I guess I could go back up to closer to the 2 inch setting for this year, until I get it leveled out, but everything I read says 1.5 inches is the maximum heght I want to keep this turf at? If i set my mower up to 2 inches it will be cutting a range around 1.5-3 inches because of how uneven the yard is right now.

But I guess that would be better than ruining a new lawn.

You will need to use sand to level the lawn. Top soil will breakdown (not a bad thing, just won't aid in leveling).
Here's my lawn after the service levelled, before I watered. You can see it takes alot of sand and effort. I was cutting at 2" to avoid cxrop circles. Now I can easily cut at 7/8."

If you are going to maintain at 1.25, then it needs to be cut down to .75

Thing is if you maintain @ 1.5 you kind of wasted your time and money getting a reel mower as just about any rotary can do that.

TW- I think this brings me back to my original question-

If I keep mowing at 1.25 inches, will the areas that are being cut down to the stem learn to grow at this height? Or am I going to kill the grass?

It's only been about 2 weks since I brought it down, but some areas are showing little sign of regenerating at 1.25 inches.

Rager_w-

What part of the country are you in and what time of year did you level at? How established was your grass when you leveled it?

I'm in the metro Atlanta area. Most of the turf is 419 and was installed in 2003. There is an area in light shade where I replaced the 419 with Tif Grand. That was 2 years ago. The leveling was done in mid July, last year. The service scalped it (first using a Walker, then a reel mower), followed by aerating and fertilizer. Then the sand was applied, raked and dragged. Cost was $800 for about 3K sq ft.

TW- I think this brings me back to my original question-

If I keep mowing at 1.25 inches, will the areas that are being cut down to the stem learn to grow at this height? Or am I going to kill the grass?

It's only been about 2 weks since I brought it down, but some areas are showing little sign of regenerating at 1.25 inches.

No it will not kill the grass. It just takes time for the grass to retrain itself to grow horizontally instead of vertically. What you are seeing is the transition. Just keep the baby mowed frequently like every other day as this will speed up the learning process. The grass will figure out it needs to go horizontally. Sounds weird but Bermuda has a brain of sorts and the ability to adapt. .

If you think you might be interested in learning how to do this yourself, search this forum for posts about leveling bermuda lawns.

Well I mowed it again yesterday, and will ride out this learning curve. I realized I have my mower at 1 1/8 inch not 1 1/4, so it is slightly lower.

I looked through the leveling forums, and I think that's something I could tackle on my own, but I think I will wait until next year. It looks like that would really stress out the lawn, and mine hasn't yet seen a full growing season to get well established, and I already stressed it pretty good when I brought it down adbruptly and it hasnt grown back 100% from that yet. I think I need to see that happen before I would cut it down to 1/4 inch to level it. I guess I just don't beleive it would grow back.

How long does it take for a bermuda lawn to recover from the leveling?

How long does it take for a bermuda lawn to recover from the leveling?

Before you realize it. Depends on how much material you add, but you are talking a week or two. Recovery is not really a good word for it. Assuming you do not bury the grass, it does no harm whatsoever, thus no recovery.

Bermuda grows really fast, especially when day time temps are 85 and higher and night time temps stay at 60+. It grows so fact come late May through summer heat endin gin September you will be cursing it and asking yourself why on earth you decided to cut real short. You will be mowing every other day to keep up with it. That is not fun in July and August when it hits 100.

You do not have to wait until next year unless you want to. From my comments above it should be obvious the best time to top dress and level is when it gets warm and the grass is growing like crazy. But do not make a mistake most make by mowing short before you top dress. Let it get a little long and furry. You want the grass tips peaking out of the top dressing to get sun light. If you cut it short you cannot add very much material to keep the grass tips exposed.

Well I've been sticking with it. We have been having some crazy weather this spring in central texas, with near record lows at times. I think this is stalling out my lawns regrowth.

I can already see the grass coming back in more dense, once the temps leve out I think its gonna take off. With the grass mowed this short you can really see how unlevel and bumpy it is. In the high parts where my mower is cutting the shortest I can see the bermuda startin to grow accross the ground rather than straight up.

We'll see how it goes, maybe I will be leveling it out in late june or so.

I appreciate the advice from yall

Is your reel mower new or used if used have the blades been sharpened?

This post was edited by BermudaTamer on Sun, May 5, 13 at 23:39

Just keep at it. Once it warms up to normal the Bermuda will take off. Be sure to feed it once a month.

rager_w,

Who did you use in ATL for the lawn leveling? I am looking at that project for next spring. I'm in Marietta...

Thanks