Bermuda Grass Stripes: Difficult But Not Impossible

Bermuda grass stripes are not easy to make and maintain for long. It is a stubborn grass with thick blades that take a lot of effort to bend into stripes.

This should not keep you from experiencing a well-maintained, beautifully striped yard like everyone else.

We will discuss the various patterns you can make on this grass and a step-by-step guide to help you better.

What Are Some Bermuda Grass Stripes Ideas?

 

We understand that Bermuda might not be the best grass for striping because of its coarse and stubborn nature.

But this is a classic warm-season grass that grows a very thick and lush lawn. Instead of mowing this grass in a boring and traditional manner, why not make stripe patterns on it? This blue-green grass looks stunning when its striped blades catch the sunlight. 

– Rectangular Stripes

Even basic straight stripe lines on Bermuda give a very elegant look to the lawn. This pattern looks especially eye-catching in a cornered lawn that is either a rectangle or a square. All you have to do is cut grass with the mower going in one direction for one stripe and coming back in the opposite direction for the other.

– Curvy Shapes

A wavy or curvy striping pattern is a groovy variation of the basic straight stripes. Go freestyle with your first stripe and make long, elegant curves while mowing. Then follow this first stripe and repeat this pattern in the rest of the lawn.

Is your lawn round or irregularly shaped? Are you worried that making straight stripes would make it look tacky? What you can do, in this case is to take out your mower and ride it in concentric circles to make circular stripes instead! Either start from a bigger circle and then make smaller circles within it, or start with a smaller circle and make bigger circles outside of it.

Once you have mastered making perfectly straight stripes, you can go ahead with the more complicated patterns like a checkerboard or a crisscross arrangement. These patterns entail making straight stripes in different directions and nothing more. 

How Are Factors To Stripe Bermuda Grass?

The factors that help in striping Bermuda grass are having the ideal height, a strong lawn mower with sharp blades. Moreover, ensure that the grass is tidy, and it is dry, not very recently irrigated. Lastly, ensure you stripe in cooler seasons, and take into mind the bending direction.

– The Ideal Height

The ideal height for this grass is around two to two and a half inches. When it is grown taller than this, lawn care becomes more complicated, and the grass blades tend to become weak. This height is not ideal for striping a lawn because shorter blades are difficult to bend in one direction. 

This is another factor that makes Bermuda such a tough grass to stripe and then maintain in that position consistently. When striping this grass, you will have to lower the height of the deck to two inches and then do your thing.

Keep Bermuda short enough because this grass can only survive under two inches. The intensity and sharpness of the stripes will also be less pronounced in the case of very short grass.

– Strong Lawn Mower

To create a striped lawn, you need a lawnmower with one roller. Any mower will work with this grass, whether you own a reel mower, a push-type mower, or a weighted riding-type mower. Next, you need a good-quality lawn roller that can be cylindrical or rotary. 

A rotary roller type might not work well with tough grass like Bermuda. The good old cylindrical rollers will work best to create sharp Bermuda stripes. The mower does not necessarily need to have a roller attached to it. Various do-it-yourself lawn striping kits are available to buy and then attach to the mower before striping.

Lastly, you will also need a lawn groomer, especially for Bermuda. It is okay to avoid purchasing a commercial groomer because it can also easily be made at home. Most other grass varieties do not need a groomer, but this tool is essential for Bermuda’s tough leaves.

– Proper Sharpened Blades

Stripping Bermuda is harder than other grass types because of its thick and coarse leaf blades. The grass will be cut easily and efficiently when the lawn mower’s blades are well-sharpened. However, the roller will have to be used twice on each stripe and with greater force to bend the blade in the chosen direction.

Allow the grass to grow long enough to be cut properly for lawn striping. It will be very hard to bend Bermuda leaf blades that are too short. As we have discussed earlier, Bermuda can only be kept two inches tall, so allow it to grow to this height at least.

– Tidy Grass

Give your Bermuda lawn a thorough clean-up and remove all unwanted debris. This includes large objects like pieces of furniture and toys etc. it also includes removing smaller debris like pieces of rocks, twigs, and tree branches. These things risk being sucked into the lawn mower deck and damaging its internal parts. Moreover, the cleaner the grass, the smoother the stripes will be.

– Dry Grass

You want to ensure that Bermuda is properly dry before it can be stripped. Wet grass cannot be cut smoothly, and the result will be very poor. The wet grass clippings also get stuck on the lawn and mower deck and must be cleaned by force. Choose a dry and sunny day for stripping Bermuda and start working near the mid-day when all the dew drops have dried off.

Start by mowing and rolling the edges of the Bermuda lawn first. Then start making lawn stripes according to the pattern that you have chosen. When making straight stripes, try not to move the mower too much. Remember that Bermuda is a tough grass to bend, and each stripe will take twice the effort.

– Cooler Seasons

Striping is best suited for cool-season grasses like fescues and bluegrasses. These grasses have long, flat, and flexible leaf blades that bend easily under a roller. More pressure will be required for thick grass like Bermuda, with frequent revisions every other week to keep the stripes fresh.

Bermuda is grass with fast-paced growth during the spring and summer active periods. To keep it at its ideal height of around two inches, you must mow the grass every second week. You will also have to revise your stripes every other week; otherwise, the flattened grass blades spring back up.

– Bending Direction

The direction in which the grass is bent needs to be changed every few weeks. Otherwise, the grass is at risk of becoming permanently flattened on one side only.

If you were mowing from north to south, change the direction from south to north the next time. 

FAQ

1. Which Grass Stripes Better Than Bermuda?

All cool-season grasses can be stripped more easily and with better results than Bermuda. This is because they can be mowed taller at about three to three and a half inches long heights. The longer the grass blades, the more easily they get flattened by the roller. 

Moreover, their leaves tend to be thinner and flatter. So, not only do they get bent easily, but they also stay bent for longer and do not spring straight back up. Kentucky bluegrass, tall and fine fescues, etc., will have much sharper stripes than Bermuda.

2. What Is The Hardest Grass To Maintain In Stripes?

Bermuda is one of the hardest grass varities to stripe home. It is even harder to maintain those stripes than every other week. Another close contender, in this case, is Zoysia which is also challenging to turn into stripes. Remember that both are warm-season grasses and their thick leaves resist being bent. 

Conclusion

Refrain from letting anyone tell you that you cannot stripe your lawn if it has Bermuda planted. 

• Bermuda is a warm-season grass with a growth spurt from spring till late summer, during which you can stripe it as you like.
• The best patterns for this grass are the simplest ones, like waves or straight lines, because they are the easiest to maintain.
• With Bermuda, you will need to mow the grass and revise the rolled stripes every other week for a well-maintained lawn.
• If there is no roller attached to the lawn mower, then purchase a striping kit and attach its roller to the mower by yourself.

We would love to see you venture into making stripes on Bermuda after reading the information given in this article. You will need to be consistent with your efforts, but the results will be worth it.