How to identify it
Fine blades on wiry stems that spread by both runners above ground (stolons) and below (rhizomes); grey-green color; seedheads like a bird’s foot.
Growing conditions
| Sun | Full sun only — thins badly in any real shade |
| Traffic | The best in the business; repairs itself aggressively |
| Water | Low–moderate; extremely drought-hardy (goes dormant, then recovers) |
| Overseed rate | 0.5–1 lb / 1,000 sq ft |
Where it fits — by region
- Cool-season states: Not winter-hardy in most of the state; occasional volunteer patches die back hard.
- Transition zone states: Thrives in summer here — pick cold-hardy cultivars (or hybrid sod) and expect a long brown dormant season.
- Warm-season states: The default choice for full sun — if you have sun and want low drama, start here.
Caring for a Bermudagrass lawn
The calendar does the heavy lifting: establish and feed from late spring through summer, put pre-emergent down in late winter, and stop nitrogen 6–8 weeks before frost. Local dates for every one of those jobs come from the lawn calendar lookup or your city's calendar page. Quantities come from the seed calculator and the fertilizer calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How short should I mow Bermudagrass?
Keep Bermudagrass between 1″ and 2″, and never remove more than a third of the blade in one cut. Mow at the taller end in heat or drought — longer blades shade soil and deepen roots.
How much Bermudagrass seed do I need?
1–2 lbs per 1,000 sq ft for a new lawn, 0.5–1 lbs for overseeding, with germination in 7–21 days of consistent moisture. The seed calculator converts your lawn's square footage.
How much fertilizer does Bermudagrass need?
About 2–4 lbs of actual nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft per year, applied through the warm growing months. The fertilizer calculator turns that into pounds of product from your bag's N-P-K.
Where does Bermudagrass grow well?
Sunny southern lawns, high-traffic yards, sports turf.