Sod

Plant: Bermuda Grass

Term: Sod

Bermuda Grass

• Needs full sun• Drought tolerant• Warm-season grass• Plant from sod, seeds or plugs• Good traffic tolerance• Mow between ½ and 2”• Turns brown when soil temperature

falls below 60°• Can be an invasive weed

• Hairy ligule• No auricle• Rhizomes• Stolons• Very segmented• Rolled or folded

Bermuda GrassBermuda Grass

Sod

• Sod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of this material.

Installing Sod Movie

Sod Farm

• Grown on specialty farms & harvested by specialty equipment

• Usually has 2-3 day life from harvest - can be longer if protected from heat or drying.

Sod Cost

• Costs about $.20 - .30/sq ft if you are going to do it yourself– Very small lawn - 2000sq ft = $400 - 600

• Contractor will charge $.50/sq foot - not including soil prep

• Sod costs 20X more than seed• Sod costs 10X more than sprigs

Quiz 8Give the terms for the following definitions:

• Removing small plugs or cores out of the lawn to benefit the grass roots

• Grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of this material

• Shoots that bend to the ground or that grow horizontally above the ground and produce roots and shoots at the nodes

Terms & Definitions

• Cut up pieces of grass plants that spread by rhizomes and stolons.

• The area where neither a cool season grass or a warm season grass will grow well all year round

• A horizontal plant stem below the ground with shoots above and roots below serving as a reproductive structure.

Quiz 8 Continued

1. Which grass would you use to overseed a dormant Bermuda grass lawn for winter color?

2. Which grass is noted for its shade tolerance?

3. Which grass performs best when mown to a height of 2 – 4”?

1. Which grass is the predominant lawn grass in this area?

2. Which grass goes dormant when the soil temperature falls below 60F?

3. Which grass has a coarse and clumpy texture?

Identify these grasses

1. -

4. -

7. - no auricle