preparing Centipede lawn for the fall - South LA

Spray round up on it so you can have a new lawn next year.




But seriously you can follow the other thread about St Aug.

Centipede has its challenges on heavy clay, alkaline soils in much of S LA but that said it can look decent to good on those soils when following centipede lawn care practices. I have centipede front yard, most my neighbors do, on heavy clay alluvial soils and they look good, maybe not as good as St Augustine, but good nonetheless. I guess it depends how anal you might be in regards to lawn perfection.

First, lots of good info summarized by grass type on the first page in the stickied lawn care thread at the top 1st page - review that.

Sand - fill in your low spots now with mason sand while the grass is in “active” growth. Add no more than 1 to 2 inches depth per application to allow the grass to grow through. Add more later as needed.

Fertilizer - have you applied any lawn fertilizer yet this year? Now would be the time, ASAP, to apply a second application of 1/2 lb N per 1000 sq ft to the lawn. Centipede does not respond well to fertilizer in excess of the university based recommendations. 15-0-15, 16-0-8, or something similar.

Herbicides - for existing lawn weeds, as soon as we can get some lower 90s / high 80’s temperatures and more consistent rain, whole lawn application of post-emergent herbicides Celsius or MSM Turf herbicides. Apply pre-emergent herbicide in late-Sept/early Oct, and re-apply by mid-February. That will help immensely with many lawn weeds.

Consider mechanical core lawn aeration - no downside, only upside, ASAP, while lawn is in active growth or wait until next spring, when grass is in active growth.

With centipede, b/c it grows so slowly, compared to the other lawn grasses, it requires a lot of patience on your part, as it seems to take forever to fill in thin and bare areas. Patience and persistence required.

Or do as ronk says and nuke it, and go with another grass type, though he likely was partially, though not completely, kidding. I’ve chosen to work with my centipede front lawn, as well as my neighbors that have centipede, at least for the time being. I like a good looking lawn, but I’m not anal about it or in competition with neighbors for the best looking lawn on the street. That’s subject to potential re-assessment and change on my part though.