If you live in the southeast, centipedegrass is a good candidate for your lawn. It's a low-maintenance grass that's tolerant of sandy soils, and thrives in the shifting shade you find under pine trees. Also, it requires less mowing and feeding than other grasses. If you have a centipedegrass lawn, here are a few tips to help you keep it looking great.
Centipedegrass should be mowed to about 1 ½ to 2 inches. Any higher and you start to see thatch develop. Also, make sure your mower blade is nice and sharp.
Centipedgrass lawns are not as tough as other kinds of lawns. They can't handle foot traffic and recover slowly when they're damaged.
Centipedegrass has shallow roots. It tends to turn brown sooner than other types of grass during drought and heat. Water this grass only when you see wilting, rolling leaves or when the grass turns grayish. Then apply about an inch of water, or enough to wet the soil to a depth of 6 to 8 inches.
Centipedegrass lawns require very little feeding. Give yours a mid-spring and mid-summer feeding with Scotts® TurfBuilder®, which releases nitrogen slowly.
In early spring (February - March), apply a pre-emergent to control crabgrass. For
dandelions and other broadleaf weeds, you can apply a broadleaf weed control product to control
them.
Learn about broadleaf weed-control products for centipedegrass from
Ortho.
