We have a lot of folks around town that have good old-fashion centipede lawns. And if you do centipede the right way, it is about as low of maintenance of a grass as you can find.
But there are some thing you need to make sure happen to have a nice healthy centipede lawn.
Centipede can be easy to establish by sodding, seeding or if you are ambitious, sprigging. But you do need to know a few things to make sure you get the most out of it.
Centipede grass spreads by stolons which are what we commonly refer to as runners. Essentially the grass runs across the top of the ground and roots down into the soil as it creeps. This is a good thing if you need your grass to spread, but it means centipede is not a very deep-rooted grass.
When the roots don’t go deep, issues can occur.
Centipede is fairly drought tolerant, but like any plant, the deeper the root system the better the health of the plant. Frequent watering promotes shallow roots. Deep and less frequent water promotes deeper roots. I am going to rent a billboard to promote that statement.
Excessive thatch can lead to poor root systems as well. Essentially the roots will try and attach to the organic dead grass clippings and not into the soil which is not ideal. Soil is where we they need roots. Keep thatch out and core aerate if the soil gets compacted.
Campbell Vaughn: Brown patches in lawns