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Centipede Yard Struggling
Posted on 5/31/26 at 3:18 pm
Posted on 5/31/26 at 3:18 pm
I have a new house with freshly laid centipede. It’s struggling and already very thin/dead in many areas of the yard after 3 months.
What’s the best thing to promote healthy grown? I have an irrigation system. Currently i have it setup for a heavy watering twice a week.
Weeds already starting to take over the thinned out areas.
Baldwin County area of AL.
What’s the best thing to promote healthy grown? I have an irrigation system. Currently i have it setup for a heavy watering twice a week.
Weeds already starting to take over the thinned out areas.
Baldwin County area of AL.
4
Posted on 5/31/26 at 3:32 pm to GeauxTime9
stick a shovel in and see what the dirt situation is. If they just rolled out centipede over compacted structural clay there’s not a whole lot you can do except try top dressing for the next few years
Posted on 5/31/26 at 3:50 pm to GeauxTime9
Did it freeze after it was laid?
Have you applied fertilizer to it? Too early
Have you applied fertilizer to it? Too early
Posted on 5/31/26 at 4:13 pm to cgrand
quote:
stick a shovel in and see what the dirt situation is. If they just rolled out centipede over compacted structural clay there’s not a whole lot you can do except try top dressing for the next few years
It’s red clay dirt. I’m a novice, what would top dressing consist of?
Posted on 5/31/26 at 4:14 pm to Bayou
quote:
Did it freeze after it was laid? Have you applied fertilizer to it? Too early
No freeze and I haven’t applied anything.
Posted on 5/31/26 at 4:42 pm to GeauxTime9
Have you done a soil analysis?
How much are you watering per week?
Is it well rooted?
How much sun is it getting?
The areas that are doing well and others that are not? Describe those, please.
If you have a Lowe's near you see if they have StaGreen 16-0-10. Aim for a third of a pound of Nitrogen per square foot on your spreader.
For new grass I also like RGS-can be found on Amazon.
It's getting hot, thus you are getting limited with what selective herbicides you can use. Celsius WG is my personal favorite and can be sprayed in these temps. Typically takes 2 weeks and sometimes a second application. For new grass you should go with the lighter dose.
How much are you watering per week?
Is it well rooted?
How much sun is it getting?
The areas that are doing well and others that are not? Describe those, please.
If you have a Lowe's near you see if they have StaGreen 16-0-10. Aim for a third of a pound of Nitrogen per square foot on your spreader.
For new grass I also like RGS-can be found on Amazon.
It's getting hot, thus you are getting limited with what selective herbicides you can use. Celsius WG is my personal favorite and can be sprayed in these temps. Typically takes 2 weeks and sometimes a second application. For new grass you should go with the lighter dose.
This post was edited on 5/31/26 at 5:14 pm
Posted on 5/31/26 at 5:54 pm to GeauxTime9
If I had to guess, I’d say deep soaking twice per week is too much water…especially if you are getting rain like I have had. I’d cut back on the water to once a week and see what happens. Centipede turns color pretty drastically if it is too dry, which happens to mine every August.
Posted on 5/31/26 at 6:00 pm to GeauxTime9
quote:typical builder bullshite. They spend months compacting structural fill all over the lot then a week before they finish they just have the landscaper roll the sod out on top of it and leave. Your grass is struggling because is now 90 degrees outside, it has no roots to support it and it’s laid down on top of what may as well be asphalt. Not much you can do. Time will heal it a bit but that doesn’t help you now.
It’s red clay dirt.
Top dressing with very fine organic matter and sand is all you can do but it’s a pain in the arse and super tedious. You have to go a little at a time and then water it in thoroughly. Then do it again and again and again…
Posted on 6/1/26 at 7:10 am to ELLSSUU
quote:
Have you done a soil analysis?
How much are you watering per week?
Is it well rooted?
How much sun is it getting?
The areas that are doing well and others that are not? Describe those, please.
If you have a Lowe's near you see if they have StaGreen 16-0-10. Aim for a third of a pound of Nitrogen per square foot on your spreader.
For new grass I also like RGS-can be found on Amazon.
It's getting hot, thus you are getting limited with what selective herbicides you can use. Celsius WG is my personal favorite and can be sprayed in these temps. Typically takes 2 weeks and sometimes a second application. For new grass you should go with the lighter dose.
I haven't done a soil analysis.
I typically have two 30 minute waterings per week, we have had a ton of rain over the past few weeks.
It is not well rooted, builder laid the sod over red clay/dirt.
The front yard gets sun throughout the day, the back is about half that amount. The side yard, which is growing the best gets majority shade.
The areas that are doing poorly are in the front and back yard. Both are on inclines, the house is built on a downslope, if that makes sense.
Posted on 6/1/26 at 8:04 am to GeauxTime9
Go on Amazon and get you some of the cheap rain gauges. Typically yellow clear plastic and set them around your yard. This will give you a better idea how much water your grass is getting per week. 2 30 minute sessions doesn't sound like a lot. You're looking for 1-1.5 inches per week.
If the inclines are washing out then those are primary areas to focus on to keep it from being a larger issue.
Core aerate and top dress with a good weed free sand sounds like a good plan. You should also be using RGS at label rate and timing to boost that centipede root system.
Get the StaGreen 16-0-10 and Celsius WG had in my earlier post. Don't overdo either.
Do a good soil test. Find whatever university near you has that has the kits. Understand the results and how they work with Centipede grass. Acidity can be wonky after a builder leaves. You are fighting soil issues that will take time to correct.
Think of this as a marathon and not a sprint.
If the inclines are washing out then those are primary areas to focus on to keep it from being a larger issue.
Core aerate and top dress with a good weed free sand sounds like a good plan. You should also be using RGS at label rate and timing to boost that centipede root system.
Get the StaGreen 16-0-10 and Celsius WG had in my earlier post. Don't overdo either.
Do a good soil test. Find whatever university near you has that has the kits. Understand the results and how they work with Centipede grass. Acidity can be wonky after a builder leaves. You are fighting soil issues that will take time to correct.
Think of this as a marathon and not a sprint.
This post was edited on 6/1/26 at 8:15 am
Posted on 6/1/26 at 8:18 am to ELLSSUU
One more important thing, decide what your goal is.
If you want the best lawn in the neighborhood understand that will take work. Cutting the yard multiple times per week and regular servicing weed infiltration. The "lazy man's grass" story is BS with Centipede. I reel low mine 2-3 times a week and am a hose dragger. Wish that I had irrigation. Because if that my yard is 100% better than any of my neighbors yards but I still see weak areas that bother the crap out of me. My back yard is zoysia and its biggest problem for me is that if left unchecked it will take over flower beds. I've learned to prefer it to the centipede.
If you want the best lawn in the neighborhood understand that will take work. Cutting the yard multiple times per week and regular servicing weed infiltration. The "lazy man's grass" story is BS with Centipede. I reel low mine 2-3 times a week and am a hose dragger. Wish that I had irrigation. Because if that my yard is 100% better than any of my neighbors yards but I still see weak areas that bother the crap out of me. My back yard is zoysia and its biggest problem for me is that if left unchecked it will take over flower beds. I've learned to prefer it to the centipede.
This post was edited on 6/1/26 at 8:21 am
Posted on 6/1/26 at 8:54 am to GeauxTime9
quote:whatever small amount of decent soil material you have on top of your compacted clay is washing out down the slope. And the grass there is drying out and baking in the sun. Gravity and ecology are working against you. If it were me I would rip out the grass in the worst areas and tend to the soil condition there first. At minimum, stop mowing the tops of those slopes
Both are on inclines
no amount of chemicals is going to solve the issue, particularly on a slope where it’s just going to run off anyway
Posted on 6/1/26 at 10:57 am to GeauxTime9
All good advice, but this is the answer per cgrand, I know from experience:
There is no easy fix for a bad base, you have two options, incremental approach of top dress, sand, water, maintain, aerate in the fall, do it over and over, or regrade, add proper base, then resod.
quote:
typical builder bullshite. They spend months compacting structural fill all over the lot then a week before they finish they just have the landscaper roll the sod out on top of it and leave.
There is no easy fix for a bad base, you have two options, incremental approach of top dress, sand, water, maintain, aerate in the fall, do it over and over, or regrade, add proper base, then resod.
Posted on 6/1/26 at 12:34 pm to GeauxTime9
quote:
GeauxTime9
Though I agree the root issue very likely might be soil compaction (pun intended) from heavy equipment on site during prep for house construction (I dealt with the same issue when my subdivision was being developed prior to house construction) there is an easy test to verify. Look up “screw driver test to test for lawn soil compaction”. Ideally, you should be able to push 6 inches of the blade into the soil with ease. More in this article Compaction and Aerification. Compare screw driver test results in areas where the lawn is doing OK vs your problem areas.
Certainly have the soil analyzed by the Auburn University Soil Testing Lab for base-line data - centipede does best in acidic soils. LINK
You might want to post some photos of the problem areas, including some close ups of the centipede grass blades for H&G group to see if you might potentially have lawn disease-fungal-insect issues, e.g., take all root rot, large patch, grey leaf spot fungus, cinch bugs) which of course is often exacerbated in a stressed-unhealthily lawn (which might go to soil compaction, heat & humidity, excess watering, etc).
Lastly, consider contacting your AL county cooperative extension service, they will have a consumer horticultural extension agent on staff who might take a site visit to look at the lawn with you. They also usually have mail in soil test sample kits. Some agents are older, experienced and know their stuff, other are young and still learning, site visits used to be norm but less common now with staff reductions. Anyway, it’s a service you pay for with your tax $ LINK - contact the office to see what services they can provide.
Posted on 6/1/26 at 9:20 pm to cgrand
quote:
typical builder bullshite. They spend months compacting structural fill all over the lot then a week before they finish they just have the landscaper roll the sod out on top of it and leave. Your grass is struggling because is now 90 degrees outside, it has no roots to support it and it’s laid down on top of what may as well be asphalt. Not much you can do. Time will heal it a bit but that doesn’t help you now. Top dressing with very fine organic matter and sand is all you can do but it’s a pain in the arse and super tedious. You have to go a little at a time and then water it in thoroughly. Then do it again and again and again…
ALL OF THIS! Happened to me too. Typical builder BS.
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