Centipede grass is one of the most popular types of grass, especially in the southern US, due to its tough nature.
Centipede grass can withstand much higher temperatures and has much lower maintenance requirements.
Plus, you won’t find yourself having to water your grass very often either, although it does require heavy watering when the weather is severely dry, centipede grass does very well even when there are moderate dry spells.
That being said, every type of grass can have its challenges, and if you have begun to notice signs of distress in your centipede grass, then it could very well be the result of something you have yet to consider.
In this guide, we will look at seven of the most common centipede grass problems and discuss possible solutions.
It is worth noting that while centipede grass typically thrives in zones 7 to 9, it is important to be proactive about any visible or suspected problem to avoid total turf loss.
7. Dollar Spot
Dollar spot may look like small discolored spots across the surface of the lawn.
Many lawn enthusiasts think it’s brown patch, to which we will get more in depth on, but remember this is not the same thing:
- In contrast to brown patch, the spots caused by dollar spot tend to be smaller and range in size from approximately two to four inches wide.
- Dollar spot tends to occur in lawns with too much thatch and on lawns that are deficient in nitrogen.
- This centipede grass issue typically occurs during the summer months. The good news is that it is easy to treat using nitrogen to treat the lawn. On average, we recommend working with one to three pounds of nitrogen per 1000ft² of grass.
Aside from this, it is also important to mow your lawn at the correct height and remember to adequately water it during the hot summer months to avoid dehydration.
Aeration of the lawn is important as this will improve airflow and drainage.
6. Brown Patch
As mentioned previously, brown patches can look similar to dollar spots, but with brown patch, the diseased area of the lawn is much larger.
Brown patch is a fungal disease that is more prevalent in wet weather or several days or weeks afterward. The grass will initially turn yellow in patches. These patches can vary in size, from just a few inches to a few feet.
Over time, and if untreated, the patches will dry out, leading to increased open area in the lawn.
Another bad aspect of brown patch, even with treatments, is that it has a tendency to spread to adjacent areas of the lawn.
For these reasons, we recommend using preventive measures rather than waiting until the brown patch occurs before treatment.
There are several fungicides that are effective in treating brown patch, and there are also treatment steps you can take, one of which is to monitor your fertilizer use (more on that later).
Just like preventing dollar spot with the right mowing height, you can help prevent brown patch infection.
Last, but definitely not least, you will want to be sure that if the grass is infected, you remove any grass clippings from the lawn, and refrain from using infected grass clippings as mulch.
5. Problems With Nutrition
Many individuals think centipede grass is so hardy that they don’t need to consider any of the issues we covered on nutrients.
The problem is, while it is a sturdy species, it is very sensitive to changes in nutrition.
The damage can be quite extreme, and the grass can suffer from any issues we had already discussed.
The main issues are too much nitrogen and phosphorus.
Although the grass requires nutrients such as nitrogen
You can have too much of a good thing,
We also need to be aware of potassium and iron and ensure they do not fall too low. On top of this, you should also ensure pH levels are maintained both above and below that of the field’s needs.
This all can affect color, and the vitality of grass will be tarnished if they are inconsistent.
Centipede grass grows significantly better in acidic soil with an ideal pH for centipede grass above 5.5.
If you notice the grass starting to yellow typically related to your iron level, all you need to do is put some ferrous sulfate down to your lawn.
Ferrous sulfate can be mixed with 3 to 5 gallons per 1000ft of grass area.
4. Over Fertilizing
It is very easy to want to over-fertilize your grass because you think you’re helping it. But that’s not the case a lot of the times.
It is more about the timing of the application. Adding too much fertilizer too early in the season can have the opposite effect than what you intended and it can lead to centipede grass decline.
The best time to fertilize is late spring/early summer months. You are better off using a fertilizer without phosphorus.
The application of phosphorus can affect the grass health, but it can also reduce iron, which the grass needs to thrive. I will say again, the grass will start turning yellow once iron levels become low.
We have also discussed that high quantities of nitrogen can affect centipede grass health, therefore you do not want to use a fertilizer that has a lot of nitrogen in it either.
Take a closer watch: You will notice when this occurs that your grass will lose its exceptional beautiful apple green color and turn a much darker color more often than not, it will also be growing much quicker when compared to the other grass.
3. Fairy Rings
Fairy ring is a lawn disease that causes dark yellow circles to develop in the lawn.
These patches are dead areas that may start off small, about three feet, and expand to as much as 20 feet in two directions!
If it is wet outside, you will notice mushrooms starting to grow around the outside edge of the rings, which explains the adorable name for the disease.
Unfortunately, there are no treatments for fairy rings yet, which means you’ll need to remove the dead grass and install new turf in its place.
Be sure to dig down at least two or three inches into the soil to remove all sign of the disease. After all, once you install your new turf, you don’t want that to be the next place of infection!
2. Thatch
Thatch can affect many different types of grass and that includes centipede grass.
Thatch is a build-up of dead grass blades, roots, and other things.
The issue with thatch is that it can force an already shallow-rooted centipede grass to grow even shallower roots, making it more susceptible to changes in temperature and dry conditions.
Most of the time thatch will be apparent over the winter while the grass lays dormant and most people believe that it is a result of the application of too much fertilizer and that is not the case.
The only way to mitigate thatch for your grass is to remove it and that can be accomplished with:
- a rake
- or a dethatcher
If thatch is not addressed, it can stop water and nutrients from reaching the root system and will be an advantageous environment for other bad things like bacteria and fungus.
It can be hard to tell if there is thatch, as it can look perfectly fine on the surface.
The best way to test is to check the sponginess of the lawn; if it is too spongy, it is a good indication there is thatch underneath the grass.
1. Effects Of The Weather
Although we have already stated several times that centipede grass is very resilient, there is a limit to how much it can withstand.
While it can tolerate hot conditions quite well, where it struggles is with drought, so if it becomes dry you will want to ensure you are watering at least an inch every week, if not an inch and a quarter.
If it does not get the proper watering:
- After that, the grass will start to dry out and become extremely crunchy.
- You’ll experience this when walking on it, and it will probably be damaged.
- If it’s not watered at this point, it will eventually turn brown and completely dry out.
- Centipede grass will not do as well if it does not have full sun.
In general, this kind of grass requires a minimum of six hours of full sun each day and when it is deprived of this, it becomes very stressed.
When this occurs, your lawn may thin in areas and bald spots will become apparent.
The problem is that those bald spots will now become vulnerable to weed size.
Conclusion
Centipede grass is one of the tougher grasses and its popularity in zones 7 to 9 is testament to this.
However, it’s not invincible and taking proper care of your lawn will help with controlling diseases and stress on your grass.
At times, you may also want to utilize a pre-emergent for weeds in your centipede grass.