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You might get the heebie-jeebies from centipedes, but not from centipedegrass. This type of warm-season grass is popular in the southern United States because it doesn’t need much care. But how do you know if this grass will grow well on your lawn? How do you take care of it? First, let’s talk about what centipedegrass gardens need and how they look.
Centipedegrass comes from China and Southeast Asia. In 1916, it was brought to the United States. It has since become a famous type of grass in the southern states and does well in many cities.
Centipedegrass has rough leaves that are apple green and grows slowly. Because it grows best in warm weather, this grass will grow quickly in the summer and slowly die back in the winter. Grass that grows best in warm weather does so in the southern half of the US.
Centipedegrass might not do well in the hard winters, but they might do well in the transition zone in the middle of the country. The TifBlair seeded type can handle cold weather the best.
A lot of people think that centipedegrass doesn’t need much care. It doesn’t need to be fertilized or mowed very often. It can also grow in areas that aren’t very fertile, which other types of grass might have trouble with.
But the loss of centipedegrass is a real issue. When a field that was doing well doesn’t green up in the spring, gets dead spots and yellow edges, and eventually dies, this is called centipedegrass decline. This situation can be caused by a number of things, ranging from bad plant care to pests and diseases. No matter what caused it, it can be discouraging for people who have it happen.
If your centipedegrass garden doesn’t do well no matter how well you take care of it, you might want to try a different type of grass.
Low tolerance for drought
Low tolerance for traffic
Low need for maintenance. Depending on the results of a soil test, it needs to be mowed infrequently and fertilized with 1 to 2 pounds per 1000 square feet per year. It can also grow in dirt that is acidic. Several bugs can damage centipedegrass.
The best height for cutting is between 1 and 2 inches.
Some people have great memories, but if you forget to do something important for your yard, it could hurt your centipedegrass. This calendar will help you remember when to do each job on the yard.
The best time to finish a job is shown by the green check marks. The black check marks show a possible amount of time to finish a job. There is no perfect time to do all of your lawn care tasks. The weather seasons are used to make this calendar. This means that each season starts on the first of the month, not on the equinoxes or solstices.
You can help centipedegrass grow best by understanding what it needs. What you need to know to take care of a centipedegrass yard, whether it’s new or old.
This grass needs to be mowed every five to seven days while it’s growing. Centipedegrass should be about 1 to 2 inches tall. When the grass is dry, mow it less often and raise it by ½ to 1 inch. But don’t make it more than 2 ½ inches tall.
Once the centipedegrass turns green in the spring, you can start cutting it. Centipedegrass spreads by shoots above ground, so cutting it too soon or too low is especially bad for it. Start at 2 inches and keep going down until you get the height you want or the grass looks bad (but don’t go below 1 inch).
Keep cutting the grass at this height until fall. When it gets below 70 degrees at night, mow your grass at a height of 2 inches to give it time to get used to the cold before the first frost of the year. Once the winter is over, you don’t need to mow centipedegrass. If it stops growing and goes brown, you can put the mower away for the year (after winter maintenance, of course).
Centipedegrass needs an inch of water every week to stay alive and grow. Water the grass until it turns brown and stops growing for the winter. After that, water just enough to keep the dirt from being completely dry. If it hasn’t rained in three to four weeks in the winter, give your grass a drink.
A helpful tip is to not water the yard when it is below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, or the grass could freeze.
Even though centipedegrass can go for a few weeks without water, it’s not the most drought-resistant grass. Want something to look at to help you? If you see dark bluish-gray spots on the ground, faded, folded, or curled leaves, it’s time to water. Also, you should water your plants if it stays dry, hot, or windy for a long time.
The way often you water could also depend on the type of dirt you have. Sandy soils drain quickly, so you’ll need to water twice, each time with ½ inch of water. Because clay soils take a long time to soak up water, water until the water runs off, then stop for 30 minutes and start again.
The best time to water is early in the morning. Why? Irrigating grass at night makes it more likely to get diseases, and irrigation during the day could evaporate before it soaks in properly.
Keep grass that has just been seeded or sodded wet at all times so it can germinate and grow roots.
Fertilizer gives your grass the nutrients it needs when nature doesn’t. This amount of nitrogen will depend on the type of soil you have and the results of a soil test. Centipedegrass needs about 1 to 2 pounds of nitrogen per 1000 square feet per year. Most of the time, sandy soils need more nitrogen fertilizer than clay soils.
When should you put down fertilizer? Centipedegrass gardens that are already healthy only need fertilizer once a year. You can, however, split pollination up if you need to. Feed the grass after the last frost has gone away and it’s turned green. Summer is the best time to feed warm-season plants like centipedegrass. However, be sure to read the labels closely, as some fertilizers can damage plants when the temperature gets too high.
Just what kind of soil do you need? Before making a choice, get a dirt test done in a lab. Tests of the dirt tell you what nutrients are there and which ones are missing. You should send in a dirt sample early in the spring so that you are ready for summer.
Centipedegrass can’t grow in soils that are high in phosphorus or low in potassium. If a soil test doesn’t say to use phosphorus, don’t. Centipedegrass gets thatch and diseases when it has too much phosphorus.
What are nutrients for the soil? Soil amendments are any additions that change the quality of the soil and make your grass better in a roundabout way. For instance, adding things to the dirt can raise or lower the pH.
Soil pH tells you how acidic or basic your soil is. If the dirt is too acidic or alkaline, grass doesn’t grow as well. There will be nutrients that aren’t available or that will turn poisonous. Your grass can use the nutrients in the earth and fertilizer better if the pH is just right. To lower pH (make it less acidic), add sulfur. To raise pH (make it more basic), add lime.
Most plants like it when the pH level is between 6.0 and 7.0, but centipedegrass likes it when the pH level is between 5.0 and 6.0. If the pH of the soil is less than 5.0, add lime in the summer or fall. When the air is below 75 degrees Fahrenheit, put sulfur on it. Soil nutrients can be used at any time of the year as long as the ground isn’t frozen, but you should always follow the advice from your soil test.
The pH of earth can be changed slowly, and the process can last for years. After three months, check the pH of your soil to see what changes have been made. When you’re not making any changes, get tests every two to three years.
When there is a lot of foot movement or the soil is packed down, centipedegrass doesn’t do well. But how do you know if the ground is packed down? These are the signs:
For those having any of these problems, aeration might be the answer. Core aeration changes the soil in your yard by making small holes in it. This lets air, nutrients, and water get to the roots.
Aerating your lawn should be done at least once a year, but this varies on a number of factors. Wait until the last frost has gone away and the grass has turned green again. Better yet, wait until summer, when the grass gets tall and strong. This will make it possible for your grass to recover quickly from this hard work.
Tip: If you just used pre-emergent pesticides, don’t aerate the soil. Weeds can’t get through pre-emergent pesticides because they change the soil, which makes them less effective. Postpone pre-emergent uses or aerate ahead of time.
It is made up of dead and live grass stems, shoots, and roots that build up on top of the soil. Thatch isn’t a big problem for most fields, but centipedegrass is very likely to get it.
Some thatch is removed by aeration, but you should check the amount of thatch throughout the year to see if you need to do anything else. When the layer is more than ½ inch thick, pull it off. Use a dethatcher or power rake with blades that are 3 inches apart and set ¼ inch deep. The best time to do this is in late spring or summer.
Thatch might be building up too much if you see it happening all the time. Grass grows faster with nitrogen fertilizer, but sometimes too much of a good thing is bad.
How to Plant Centipedegrass and Lay More Seeds: You can use seeds or sod to plant new centipedegrass. Do keep in mind that centipedegrass takes about 28 days to sprout and grow sod. A centipedegrass lawn can take up to three years to get thick and even. The best times to plant seeds are in late spring and early summer.
Does your centipedegrass lawn look like it has some spots? It’s possible that overseeding will work. Aerating your yard is the best way to get seeds to grow.
Some people put cool-season grass on top of their warm-season fields to make them look nicer in the winter. That being said, centipedegrass isn’t good at this, and it could hurt your current yard.
Want answers more quickly? Use centipedegrass sod to make a green mat. You can use this method at any time, but spring and summer are still the best.
Sod costs more than grass plugs. It will take longer for your centipedegrass to fill in the gaps, though.
Weeds can hurt your centipedegrass yard just like they can any other lawn. Keep an eye out for these:
Weeds are less likely to show up if you take good care of your yard, but they may still get in. Use pre-emergent and post-emergent pesticides if you don’t want to pull them out by hand.
Weeds can’t grow because of pre-emergent pesticides. Use them in the spring to get rid of summer weeds and in the fall to get rid of winter weeds.
Herbicides that kill plants after they’ve already grown kill them. Use them every time you see weeds in your yard. Before you use post-emergent herbicides on your yard in the spring, wait until it is completely green.
Note: Some broadleaf poisons may make centipedegrass die off. Carefully read all labels to make sure they’re safe for centipedegrass.
If you see the word “centipedegrass,” you might think of bugs. Centipedes shouldn’t be a problem, but this type of grass is sensitive to other pests, such as
Most pests don’t do much in the winter. They appear most often in the spring and summer. You should quickly change your cleaning routine, use the right insecticide, or call a professional for help if you see damage.
Large patch is the most common disease that centipedegrass gets. Large patch is caused by fungi and grows when it’s warm and muggy in the spring and fall.
On wet grass, yellow and brown spots will grow in a circle. In the fall, use a pesticide to stop the disease from spreading further. If this happens over and over again in your yard, you can also use protective fungicides. To keep your lawn from getting this disease, here are some care tips:
It can help to add more seeds, especially if there are bare spots. To keep your yard healthy, you should water it, mow it, aerate it, fertilize it, dethatch it, and keep bugs and diseases away.
But keep in mind that centipedegrass takes a while to grow. If your yard is new, it might take longer to grow in. Don’t feed it too much to make it thicker; you might hurt it more than help it in the long run. Do a soil test to find out if your lawn isn’t getting enough nutrients or if its pH level is off, which could be stopping it from growing.
The iron in grass can turn it a dark green color. That’s because plants need iron to make chlorophyll, which is what makes them green and lets them take in sunshine. This is one reason why iron fertilizer is good for grass. To find out if your yard is iron-deficient, get a soil test. Lawns that have iron chlorosis turn yellow.
Remember that centipedegrass is apple green by nature and doesn’t need to be dark green to be healthy.
