Centipede Grass

Centipede Grass

Centipede grass can be an excellent choice of grass type for homeowners in the warmer Southern regions, requiring low maintenance and providing a turf with minimum disease and pest problems to worry about. In fact, Centipede grass really is one of the best low maintenance lawns.

Centipede Grass can be established with Sprigs, Sod or Seed, producing a lush dense sod with a light green color which often has a noticeable yellow tinge to it. A fully established Centipede Grass lawn can be achieved with full coverage in around 3 months.

Growth Rates Of Centipede Grass

Growth rates for Centipede Grass are rather slow, this is one reason why it is regarded as a low maintenance grass type and is so favored by many homeowners, as slow growth equates to less mowing.

The problem with many slower growing lawns is while they may require less mowing, their slow growth rates also slow any repair. This is true for Centipede Grass too, if the grass is subjected to higher than average wear and tear such as foot traffic or children playing, then it often cannot keep repairing itself from this damage. When lawn damage outpaces lawn repair then the lawn will always lose and the affected lawn areas will die.

Centipede Grass makes for a great, lush and dense lawn for many homeowners, and is a perfect choice for many. It's only if the lawn is expected to undergo regular heavy wear and tear then another grass type should be considered.

Best Growing Regions For Centipede Grass

Centipede Grass is a Warm Season grass type which will grow well in any regions where other similar grass types like Zoysia, St. Augustine and Bermuda will grow. These regions are most often in the Southern warmer areas. Centipede Grass does not cope well with cold and therefore is not an appropriate choice of lawn in the Northern regions.

Centipede Grass Lawn Care

While Centipede Grass is a very easy care and long living home lawn, it still needs appropriate levels of lawn care and maintenance in order to keep it at it's best health and optimum appearance.

Correct watering will need to be maintained at all times, and this is especially true in the hotter Summer months as Centipede Grass does not cope well low water levels or drought conditions.

Other than paying appropriate attention to watering of Centipede Grass, it needs no other special care other than good lawn care practices which should be used on all lawns. Our article on Top Lawn Care Tips outlines these basic lawn care principles.

Fertilizing Centipede Grass

The light green color, and sometimes yellow tinge to Centipede Grass often leads some homeowners to see these traits as a Nitrogen deficiency and repeatedly add excessive amounts of fertilizer in a vain attempt to darken the green leaf color. This will never work because such a dark color is not able to be produced in Centipede grass, and only causes many other problems to the grass instead, often weakening it and making it more vulnerable to disease.

A correct fertilizing regimen for Centipede Grass simply involves standard lawn fertilizing practices, which is usually regular light applications of quality fertilizer every couple of months throughout the growing season.