Question
I mistakenly used Scotts Bonus S (for St. Augustine)fertilizer on my bermuda grass about 4-5 weeks ago. Will I lose my entire lawn or is there something I can do to help bring it back? I have dead spots and places that have turned yellow.

Answer
Houston, you have a problem.

For the benefit of all mankind let us read the label on the Scotts Bonus S and I quote: 'Do not use on lawns of bahiagrass, bermudagrass, bluegrass, fine fescue, bentgrass, ryegrass, tall fescue or dichondra as severe lawn damage may occur.'

Julie, my friend, you are not the first one to make a mistake like that and you will not be the last.   We tend to ignore all the warnings on these labels, like they're written for someone else.  Skulls and bones mean nothing to us.  Fine print, who needs it?

Will you lose your entire lawn?  What's done is done.  We must play Wait and See now.  Sorry, but that's the facts.  There is no secret trick to un-doing your Scotts Bonus S.

Question is, Julie, Why would you want to put Scotts Bonus S on your grass?

It's not just that 'Bonus S' can't tell the difference between your Bermudagrass and Dichondra or Crabgrass.  It's that Atrazine that's bad for you -- a potent, poisonous weedkiller that does a lot worse things than kill your Bermudagrass.  Bad for kids.  Bad for pets.  Bad for people.  Your supercharged Bermudagrass has all it takes to squeeze out big, bad weeds, all by itself.

'Scotts Bonus S' is a formula built around Atrazine.  One of the most commonly used weedkillers in the world, second in the U.S. only to glyphosphate (Round-Up).  Totally banned by the European Union.  The biggest users of Atrazine: Corn and Sugar Cane farms and -- tada! -- homeowners in Florida who use it on their lawns.  These homeowners could be putting a safe, Corn Meal Gluten based weedkiller that would have given you exactly the same benfits without the disaster of destroying any Bermudagrass.  And it would have decomposed all summer into safe, slow release, healthy fertilizer.  With no burn marks.  And no toxic side effects.

Here's what I think you should do:

First, don't beat yourself up over this.  It's a common mistake.  I get tons of after-the-fact SOS's from people who wiped out their lawns overnight doing exactly what you did.  Scotts actually has a policy of refunding your money on the product, even if you misapplied it.  You won't get your lawn paid for, but they'll refund your money for the Atrazine/Bonus S.  And you actually have some grass left!  Count your blessings, Julie.

I do mean that, Julie.  It could be worse.

It's still early in the season.  There's time to put together a great, basic lawn that you can enjoy all summer.  Your biggest challenge will be to rebuild your lawn before weeds have a chance to move in on the unused real estate that used to have grass.

To build strong, thick, healthy Bermuda, make sure you mow at a close height -- usually impossible unless you're using a reel mower.  To meet its Nitrogen demands, make sure you feed Organic fertilizers several times a year high in N -- Organic fertilizers come with micronutrients that guarantee your Bermudagrass won't be lacking in any of them, unless synthetic fertilizers.  

Overseeding is not going to work, in my opinion.

Explains the Florida Turf Assn: 'Because of their more open habit of growth, seeded cultivars of bermudagrass are even more susceptible to weed invasion.'  (http://floridaturf.com/weeds/webermud.htm)

What this means, Julie, is that if someone suggests you over-seed those bare areas, seed will not work for a number of reasons, one of them being that they are not as vigorous as plugs and sod.  But any Bermudagrass is going to have a fairly open growth habit, constantly prone to weed invasion.  In the bare sections of your yard, parts where nothing is growing, rake up the soil and insert some sprigs of your own Bermudagrass into those areas.  A Bermuda sprig will need a minimum 3 or 4 nodes for this to work.  Keep well watered and don't put any more chemicals down that are not going to make your Birds and Earthworms happy.  Your lawn should fill in nicely over the next few weeks.

Residual effects of your superduper weedkiller are unfortunately the only thing standing in your way right now from correcting this problem.  Wait at least 30 days before you try to jumpstar your lawn.  And stick to Organic fertilizers and weed killers; it keeps the Earthworms happy and healthy.

Keep me posted on your progress.  Any questions, I'm here.