Bermuda Grass

Bermuda grass is definitely invasive. Yet it has its place. It’s a turf that can withstand just about any weather conditions, from deep freeze to extended drought. (It won't provide any benefits to birds and pollinators, of course.)

[Picture: Drought stressed Bermuda grass]
That toughness, though, makes it a real headache in a rewilded yard, where it has no business being. It spreads through runners, also called stolons, and rhizomes, and the rhizomes can go very deep into the ground. Even professional landscapers have trouble getting rid of it. You can't just sheet mulch it, or spread black plastic on it for awhile and expect it to die. My neighbors did that, and the garden they planted was soon overrun with Bermuda grass.

I've heard landscapers say the only way to really kill it is to remove the top 6-8" of soil from the entire yard. Or use poison, and they even mentioned Roundup. Whoa, Roundup???!!!

I had almost given up on managing the Bermuda grass in my yard. It smothered several stands of sunflowers this last year. Then I participated in a volunteer event in a local park, where the object was to pull up by the roots any Bermuda grass you could find. In doing this work, I realized I might not be able to kill the Bermuda grass in my yard, but I should be able to manage it. Through the use of my monocot herbicide, plus manually pulling it up, it could be contained. Even if I didn't get all of the rhizomes, without the runners and leaves, the rhizomes should eventually die.

Another difficult thing about Bermuda grass is that it can sprout from just a piece of a runner or rhizome. This is why all pieces of Bermuda grass I pull go into the composting cart for the city to deal with. No taking chances on mulching this grass, and if the city’s compost plant gets hot enough to melt bone, it should kill the rhizomes.