Dogwoods and azaleas are blooming, so spring must finally be here. We may still have some more cool weather, but if you are like me, you are ready for spring.

Whether as a hobby or as drudgery, along with spring comes yard work. I have already seen a lot of people working in their yards. Every garden center I have visited during the past several days is buzzing with activity with people buying all kinds of flowers, shrubs, and supplies with hopes of making their landscapes more beautiful than ever.

As I have done several years in the past, I would like to use this column to provide some very basic information about caring for centipede lawns. My agents and I receive many calls each year about centipede problems. Unfortunately, we often find that many homeowners really don't understand centipede grass and how to properly care for it. Although I am providing information about centipede grass, please know that Miss Missy McLean joined our staff recently as Extension Urban Horticulturist for Robeson County. If you have questions about centipede that are not addressed in this column or need information or assistance with other lawn, ornamental, or home garden problems, please do not hesitate contacting her. You may reach her by calling our office at 910-671-3276.

Centipede is the most predominant lawn grass in this area. It is well suited for the southern coastal plains of North Carolina, because if it is properly cared for, it is very drought tolerant. Centipede grass is not a fast-growing grass, so it does not need mowing as frequently as many other grasses. It develops very dense growth which, if properly managed, will choke out many other weeds and grasses.

However, centipede does have its problems. It is not a dark green color like many other grasses. It is more of a "green apple" color. If excessive amounts of nitrogen fertilizer is applied, centipede can be forced to be very green and lush, but this practice actually prevents the grass from developing a deep root system. When this happens, the grass will often die back in large areas in the yard during periods of very dry weather. Also, if the root system is not healthy when the grass goes dormant in the winter, it cannot tolerate extremely cold weather. Then winter dieback may occur and many areas in the lawn may not green up in the spring.

Many people like to start fertilizing their centipede grass as soon as spring gets here in hopes of making it green up much quicker. A lot of people use weed and feed fertilizers with hopes of killing winter weeds as they fertilizer their centipede. I guess everyone wants a real pretty, weed-free, dark green lawn like the ones in the commercials on television. But if you will notice, the lawns in those commercials are not centipede grass, and the people in the commercials are not going to tell you to not use it on centipede. The grasses in those commercials are other fine-bladed, cool-season grasses that thrive on lots of fertilizer, especially nitrogen.

Centipede should NEVER be fertilized until late May or early June. And then it should receive only very small amounts of nitrogen. Centipede requires only about one-half pound of actual nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. In addition, centipede is very sensitive to many types of weed killers. It is especially sensitive while it is breaking dormancy during the early spring.

Most weed and feed fertilizers contain large amounts of nitrogen. Remember the commercial on television with the lush, dark green grass? They also contain herbicides. So using these fertilizers during the spring results in way too much nitrogen being applied, fertilizer being applied at the wrong time of the year, and weed killers being applied at the time centipede is most sensitive.

So if your centipede lawn looked good several years ago but now has large dead areas in it, you may not be managing it properly. In fact, you may be overmanaging it. Remember, use only a small amount of nitrogen and then not until late May. Also, no herbicides should be used while it is breaking dormancy.

Even with proper maintenance, centipede grass may experience problems. Please call our office and request a free copy of the Extension publication entitled Centipede Lawn Maintenance Calendar or for assistance with your lawn, ornamental, or garden problems.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 4/28/04