Best used for
- Lawns with actual foot traffic — campuses, parks, schools, event lawns
- Sports and recreation surfaces
- Slope stabilisation up to about 1:3 gradients
- Sites where a lawn must establish before an opening date
Lawn and groundcover
Selection-1 Bermuda Grass
India’s standard hard-wearing lawn grass: fast to establish, cheap to lay, recovers from footfall, and the only sensible choice where people actually walk on the lawn.
About Selection-1 Bermuda Grass
Selection-1 is a Cynodon dactylon selection and the default turf on Indian projects for straightforward reasons: it establishes in weeks, costs little, tolerates heat and drought better than the fine grasses, and — critically — recovers from being walked on. A lawn that people use should be Selection-1 or a Cynodon hybrid, full stop.
It is coarser in texture than Korean or Mexican grass and it browns off in a cold North Indian winter, which is why premium landscapes reach for the finer alternatives. Those alternatives cannot take traffic. The honest design decision is to use Selection-1 where people go and a fine grass only where they look.
Its aggression is a maintenance issue. Stolons run into planting beds and paving joints continuously, so every lawn edge needs a physical barrier — a concrete or stone edging strip set 100 mm deep — or the weeding line item will run forever.
Do not use where
- Shaded lawns under tree canopy — it will thin out and weeds will take over
- Beds adjacent to planting without a physical edge; it invades relentlessly
- Projects unwilling to fund fortnightly mowing
| Botanical name | Cynodon dactylon "Selection No. 1" |
|---|---|
| Family | Poaceae |
| Also called | Selection grass, Doob grass, Hariyali, Bermuda turf |
| Mature height | Mown at 25–40 mm |
| Spread | Spreads indefinitely by stolons and rhizomes |
| Growth rate | Fast |
| Sunlight | Full sun; thins badly in shade |
| Water need | Moderate — roughly 4–6 mm/day in peak summer, less than fine grasses |
| Soil | Adaptable; prefers drained loam with 150 mm of topsoil |
| Climate | The whole Indian plains; goes semi-dormant and straw-coloured in NCR winters |
| Flowering | Seed heads if unmown; mown lawns rarely flower |
| Spacing | Laid as turf rolls or sods; sprigged at 150 mm centres |
| Planting window | February–March and June–September |
| Establishment | 4–6 weeks to closed cover from sod |
| Maintenance | High — mowing every 7–10 days in growing season |
| Pollution tolerance | High |
| Drought tolerance | High |
| Transplanting | Lifts and relays as turf easily; recovers from being cut into for services. |
Care
Season-by-season care calendar
| Season | What to do |
|---|---|
| February–March | Scarify and top-dress with sand and compost to lift winter thatch. First feed of the year with a nitrogen-led fertiliser. |
| April–June | Mow every 7–10 days at 30 mm. Irrigate early morning. Do not scalp — short mowing in peak heat kills lawns. |
| July–September | Fastest growth; mow weekly. Watch for fungal patch in prolonged wet weather and improve drainage where water stands. |
| October–January | Reduce mowing to every 3 weeks. Expect straw colour in the north; do not over-water dormant turf. |
Troubleshooting
Common problems and what causes them
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Lawn thinning under trees | Insufficient light — Cynodon needs full sun | Raise the tree canopy, or accept the reality and convert to shade groundcover or mulch beneath the canopy. |
| Grass invading planting beds | No physical edge restraint | Install a 100 mm deep edging strip. Chemical edging is a recurring cost with no end point. |
| Brown patches after mowing in summer | Scalping — mowing too low, or blunt blades | Raise mowing height to 35–40 mm in peak summer and sharpen blades. Never remove more than a third of leaf in one cut. |
Plant with
Species that work alongside it
avenue trees
Neem
Azadirachta indica
The most reliable avenue tree in India: evergreen shade, extreme drought tolerance, no serious pest problems and roots that behave near pavement.
- Height15–20 m
- WaterLow
- MaintenanceLow
avenue trees
Amaltas
Cassia fistula
The classic Indian flowering avenue tree — cascading golden racemes through the hottest weeks of the year, on a medium tree with well-behaved roots.
- Height8–12 m
- WaterLow to moderate
- MaintenanceLow
hedges and screens
Golden Duranta
Duranta erecta "Golden Edge"
The bright chartreuse hedge that gives Indian landscapes their colour block — fast, cheap, endlessly clippable and visible from a distance without any flowers at all.
- Height0.3–2 m as clipped; 3 m unpruned
- WaterModerate
- MaintenanceHigh — this is a clipping-dependent plant
palms
Royal Palm
Roystonea regia
The default statement palm for Indian boulevards and corporate entrances: a smooth grey concrete-like trunk, a green crownshaft and an arching feather crown that reads clearly at 80 km/h.
- Height15–20 m mature (25 m on old specimens)
- WaterModerate
- MaintenanceModerate
Selection-1 Bermuda Grass — frequently asked questions
Which grass is best for lawns in India?
Selection-1 Bermuda for anywhere with traffic or full sun and a real mowing budget. Korean grass for fine ornamental lawns that are looked at rather than used. Under trees, neither — use a shade groundcover.
How much water does an Indian lawn need?
Roughly 4–6 mm a day in peak summer for Cynodon, or about 40–60 litres per square metre per fortnight. Deep infrequent watering builds deeper roots than daily sprinkling.
Why does my lawn turn brown in winter?
Cynodon goes semi-dormant below about 15 °C — that is normal in North India and not a disease. It greens up again in March. Over-watering dormant turf causes fungal problems.
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Service detailSpecifying Selection-1 Bermuda Grass on a project?
We supply, plant and maintain across India. Send the site conditions and quantities and we will confirm whether this species is the right call before you order it.