A Beginner’s Guide to Bermuda Grass Sod Plugs

When you search for grass plugs online, the top results will most likely feature bermudagrass—and for good reason.

Bermudagrass is a warm-season variety known for its dense, light-to-dark green blades. Its popularity as a lawn grass comes from its exceptional weather resilience and self-repairing abilities. Today, you’ll find it available as sod or grass plugs—both of which offer key advantages over traditional seeding, such as faster establishment, leading to a more resilient lawn in a shorter period. If you’re in Florida or anywhere in the southern region, bermudagrass sod plugs are likely one of the most common options for establishing or repairing your lawn.

What is Bermudagrass?

Bermudagrass is a warm-season grass that grows most actively from late spring to summer. It thrives in full, direct sunlight, is well-adapted to various soil conditions and climates in Florida, and has excellent wear, drought, and salt tolerance. 

It enters dormancy during cold winters and turns brown. However, you may not have to worry about your grass losing its vibrancy in the mild winters in southern lawns. With its durability and resilience to heavy foot traffic, this grass variety is preferred for golf courses and sports fields.

Types of Bermudagrass

As a versatile warm-season grass, bermudagrass has a range of varieties suited for different applications. Years of research and development in turfgrass cultivation have led to improved and hybrid varieties that offer better performance in residential lawns, sports fields, and golf courses.

Common Bermudagrass

Common bermudagrass is typically grown from seed and is recognized for its light green color and slightly coarser texture. It grows vigorously, forming a dense lawn that can withstand heavy foot traffic, making it a resilient choice for many applications. While often used in pastures due to its adaptability and durability, it also serves as a practical option for home lawns, especially in warmer climates.

Sod farms have developed improved hybrid Bermudagrass varieties that offer superior drought tolerance, finer leaf texture, and increased resistance to pests and diseases. These hybrids are cultivated for high-performance turf applications and are typically established using sod or grass plugs for faster and more consistent coverage.

Improved and Hybrid Varieties

Bimini Bermuda is an improved hybrid variety known for its fine-bladed grass and upright leaf growth. It produces a dense, vibrant dark green turf with excellent wear tolerance, making it a preferred choice for golf courses, sports fields, and high-end residential lawns. With lower maintenance requirements and greater resilience, Bimini Bermuda is an excellent option for anyone seeking a premium lawn with lasting beauty.

Imperial Bermuda is another hybrid variety bred for durability and rich color. It provides a lush, uniform appearance with improved resistance to drought and foot traffic, making it ideal for homeowners who want a beautiful yet hardy lawn.

By choosing a bermudagrass variety suited to your needs, you can enjoy a thriving, resilient lawn that enhances your outdoor space.

The Benefits of Bermudagrass Plugs

Grass plugs are essentially turf plants grown individually in trays, each measuring 3x3 inches. Our SodPods are sold in 16-, 32-, or 64-pack grass plug trays. We recommend planting them 9-12 inches apart—the less space they have, the faster they will spread and fill your lawn.

While sod and grass plugs are both methods of establishing a lawn, they differ in scale and approach. Whereas laying new sod provides immediate gratification by covering a large area with an almost-instant fully-mature dense grass, plugs are small sections of grass, with a fully-developed root system, that allow for more precise targeting of specific areas.

Bermuda plugs offer the flexibility to establish your lawn as your time and budget allow and the convenience of repairing lawn issues without having to spend on a full sod installation. It's a great alternative when the amount of grass you need is much less than a pallet of bermudagrass sod. You can also buy sod to test out how well the bermudagrass will perform in your yard, particularly its specific conditions.

How to Plug Bermudagrass

Planting bermudagrass sod plugs is a straightforward process that involves digging evenly spaced holes in the soil using a grass plug tool to accommodate each sod chunk. This specialized tool makes the process easier by ensuring uniform hole depth and spacing, which promotes even growth and coverage. However, to guarantee maximum success in establishing a healthy, green lawn, you should take some essential pre- and post-plugging measures. Proper soil preparation, strategic spacing, and diligent aftercare all contribute to the successful establishment of Bermudagrass plugs.

To establish a new lawn

Establishing a new lawn with bermudagrass plugs begins by preparing your yard by removing any existing grass or weeds. This unwanted vegetation can compete with your desired plants, hindering their growth.

Apply a non-selective herbicide to your lawn 10-14 days before planting for effective weed control. You may have to re-apply after 3-4 days if there are still signs of weed growth. After that, you can use a sod cutter or a rake to remove the debris or thick carpet of thatch on the top of your soil.

Excessive thatch prevents air, water, sunlight, and nutrients from reaching grass roots, leaving your lawn susceptible to drought, pests, and diseases. By preparing your soil, you are creating a clean slate for your new lawn and setting the stage for successful plugging.

To repair damaged areas in your lawn

Grass plugs offer a practical solution for addressing issues like bare spots or sparse areas that may stem from heavy foot traffic, poor soil conditions, fungal diseases, and pests, among other factors. But before planting grass plugs, tackling these potential causes is crucial. This may involve applying fungicides and implementing measures to minimize foot traffic while your grass recovers.

Installing grass plugs facilitates a speedy recovery, allowing your lawn to regain its healthy and vibrant appearance. It also contributes to the overall resilience of your lawn and its ability to withstand daily wear and tear.

Whether you're starting a new lawn or repairing damaged areas, fertilizing the soil with a slow-release grass fertilizer like NutriPod is a crucial step. This gives your new grass a steady supply of essential nutrients as they establish themselves in the new soil. NutriPod helps accelerate growth up to two times faster, facilitating quicker root development and lush, healthy coverage. Check out this article for a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to start a new lawn with grass plugs.

Bermudagrass Plugs at SodPods

Grass plugs emerge as a versatile solution for establishing a new lawn and revitalizing sparse or bare areas in an existing one. The ease of grass plug installation and the resilient nature of bermudagrass make plugging an accessible option for homeowners seeking a lush and resilient lawn.

Elevate your lawn with SodPods. We offer farm-fresh, ready-to-plant bermudagrass plugs with established root systems to guarantee a lush and resilient green cover for your outdoor space.

Discover more grass plug varieties by visiting our website today!