What Kind of Grass Do I Have?



If you see this on your sidewalk you have
common bermudagrass either
as a weed or as a lawn grass.

Q. We moved here last year and have not ever had the experience with the type of grass that is in our back yard. My husband says we need a four wheel drive lawn mower for mowing, extremely bumpy and patchy. What kind of grass seed should we be using here for this environment, and when to re-seed? Thank you and the Gazenias you advised me to plant and thick and healthy!!

A. It will be tough to tell but the two common grasses here are fescue (a bunching grass which might be giving you all the bumps) and bermudagrass. Bermudagrass runs along the ground and is flat. The bermudagrass, if that is one you have, will turn brown this late fall and early winter (November/December).

If you have a mixture of the two then you will see the parts of the lawn with bermuda turn brown this winter and the tall fescue will stay green in clumps. If you do have a mixture it is usually because of an inadequate irrigation system or not very good irrigation practices. The bermudagrass can survive with lots less water than the fescue. So when water is limited, the bermudagrass takes over those areas.

From left to right upper leaf surface of Kentucky bluegrass,
perennial ryegrass and tall fescue. Actually the tall fescue
leaf surface could also pass for annual ryegrass.

It is easy to spray and kill the fescue during the winter in the bermudagrass (beremudagrass is brown then and sleeping and will not get hurt) with Roundup but not the other way around. But most people do not like a bermudagrass lawn. Hope this helps.