Begin making plans to control Bermuda grass

     By Bob Morris
     View columnist
      The following are typical questions our Master Gardeners deal with daily at the Nevada Cooperative Extension. If you have gardening questions, call the Master Gardeners' hot line at 257-5555 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. There is also a gardening Web site at http://www. intermind.net/mgarden/.
     
      Question: How can I control Bermuda grass in my lawn and shrub areas?
      Answer: Now is in fact a good time to be planning the control of Bermuda grass in home landscapes. There are other types of Bermuda grasses, the hybrid Bermuda grasses, which make exceptional stands of turfgrass as lawns and don't give many of the headaches to gardeners that common Bermuda grass does. But that's a separate question altogether.
      The Bermuda grass you are referring to is the so-called common Bermuda grass, considered a weed by most people. There is a county ordinance against the planting of common Bermuda grass because of its release of allergenic pollen if not managed properly. Some people maintain it as a lawn in Southern Nevada.
      As a general rule, common Bermuda grass is started from seed while hybrid Bermuda grass cannot be started from seed. Hybrid must be started from sod, plugs or stolons. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but generally speaking, if the intent is to reduce pollen levels then any Bermuda grass started from seed will produce abundant pollen if left poorly maintained.
      The main objection by gardeners to common Bermuda grass is its fast growth and, because of its fast growth, tremendous potential to invade lawns, gardens and planters.
      Once established, common Bermuda is very difficult to control. Even the recommendations below are less than perfect. When I am asked in classes how to get rid of Bermuda, I usually tell the troubled gardener to move to a house with a new landscape.
      If you can move to a house with a new landscape about every three years, you should be able to keep Bermuda grass in check.
      The nonchemical approach is to provide enough "competition" to unwanted Bermuda grass that it keeps this weed from invading. Here, prevention is the best approach.
      For lawns, "competition" includes keeping the lawn dense through adequate fertilizer applications and sufficient mowing height to shade the soil. Bermuda grass does very poorly in shade. Dense stands of grass keep the soil in the lawn well shaded.
      Damaged lawns, lawns mowed short, trimmed too closely and poorly fertilized lawns leave the soil under the canopy of the grass open to invasion by allowing sunlight to reach the soil and Bermuda grass seedlings.
      In gardens, "competition" means either applying a mulch or shading the soil with the canopies of the plants growing in the gardens. Of course in vegetable gardens shading the soil is impossible shortly after planting.
      Mulches must be used between rows until plants get large enough to shade the area. Hoeing regularly with a scuffle hoe or other hoe that cuts weed seedlings off at just below the soil surface is effective as well.
      Chemical control measures are usually the first method that most gardeners will reach for at the garden centers. I recommend the use of nonchemical means first, if at all possible. Sometimes chemical weed control is actually referred to as "chemical hoeing."
      If mechanical hoeing were done on a weekly basis, combined with mulching, there would be no need for chemical weed control.
      Two types of chemicals are out there for Bermuda grass control. One is called "nonselective" weed control and the other is "selective" weed control.
      Nonselective weed killers are chemicals that generally kill or damage most any plant it comes in contact with. This means that this chemical must be applied only to the plant it is meant to kill.
      Chemicals such as Roundup, if applied and directed toward Bermuda grass early in the weed's life, will provide adequate control in shrub areas. It is not meant to be applied to lawns or vegetable gardens.
      Selective weed killers are chemicals that kill a narrow range of plants while not killing or damaging beneficial plants. In this category are chemicals such as Fusilade or Poast which kills Bermuda grass but leaves many other valuable plants without visual damage.
      These products are approved for shrub beds and flower beds and not lawns or vegetable gardens. Be sure to follow label directions and precautions when using any chemical weed killer.
      Q: Why am I not getting any beans being produced now?
      A: Too hot. Try planting beans in cool soil and at cool times of the year.
      Plant beans again at the end of August and early September for a fall crop. Plant again in early spring.
      Q: I need to prune my Lady Banks Rose. How do I do that?
      A: It depends on how big you want it to get. If you want to keep it under 10 feet tall then you need to prune the largest canes two to four inches just above the soil every year. I would remove one-fourth to one-third of the largest canes annually, just after bloom in the spring.
      If I want it too be larger than 10-feet tall and have flowers from top to bottom I wouldn't prune it much at all but just let it get big. If it gets too big, then cut it two to four inches above the ground just after spring bloom and start all over again.
      If I wanted it to have flowers at the top of the plant but not on the bottom I would remove new growth from the base, just after bloom in the spring, and keep it pruned up off of the ground.
     
     Bob Morris is a horticulture specialist with Nevada Cooperative Extension.