Centipede Lawn Grass Care - An established Centipede lawn grass requires less maintenance or care than most warm season lawn grass varieties.  Centipede grass is a slow growing favorable lawn grass requiring one or two cuttings a month to maintain a 1 or 2 inch lawn or turf.  Depending on soil fertility and climate conditions a centipede lawn grass may never grow more than eight inches in height if completely left alone.  Centipede grass seed is easy to establish and economical maintain making centipede grass one of the most popular lawn grass seed varieties available.

Maintaining Centipede Grass
Water centipede grass seed daily for the first 10 days to two weeks after planting to insure the top 2 inches of soil stays moist.  Continue watering the lawn after the seedlings emerge at least 3 times per week so as to prevent the top inch of soil from drying out.  This is very critical the first couple of weeks after germination. Centipede seedlings are very small for several weeks after germination so do not let the top one inch of soil go completely dry.  Of course it is not necessary to water the lawn if you are receiving adequate rainfall. Weeds are almost certain to infest new lawn plantings as most soils contain millions of weed seed per acre and when you till your soil you bring many of these seed to the germination zone plus the fertilizer is utilized by the weeds increasing their vigor. Mowing is essential in controlling weeds in Centipede grass.  Keep weeds mowed to 1.5 – 2 inches even if the Centipede is only ¼ inch high.  Centipede is very competitive and will eventually choke out most weeds.  Avoid using any herbicides for the first year after planting Centipede grass seed.  Even if the herbicide is cleared for use on Centipede grass, the chemicals can still harm the young Centipede seedlings.  Use the mower instead of herbicides the first year.

Fertilizing Centipede Grass
Fertilize with 2 – 4 lbs. of 16-4-8 when the Centipede seedlings are 30 days old.  Apply when the grass is dry so the fertilizer does not stick to the grass and cause a chemical burn.  Water in the fertilizer immediately after spreading.  Once the Centipede grass has covered the lawn completely fertilization is not necessary.  Too much fertilizer is harmful to Centipede grass.  In fact a good healthy Centipede lawn should only be fertilized once every three years. 

Centipede Grass Insects and Diseases
Centipede grass has few enemies and the few it has seem to come when you over care for your lawn by too much fertilizer or too much water.  Insects are attracted more to highly nutritious grass and diseases are more prevalent in damp humid lawns.