burning centepede lawn in winter

joseph scott – posted 06 March 2004 09:17

is it o.k. to burn off centepede grass in winter to get rid of excess and prepare for spring to grow more freely?

Dchall_San_Antonio – posted 15 March 2004 08:28

It is never okay to burn any grass, period! Let’s take that burning argument to the ultimate limit. Let’s pretend that every bit of foliage in the world was burned every year. How much sense does that make???

What makes sense is proper care year round. Here is my 123 of proper turf management. If you follow these rules you will be in great shape. These “rules” were not my original rules, but I have come to adopt them as my own after reading turf care guides and the experiences of thousands of others on websites just like this one. Here they are.

1. Water deeply and infrequently. Deeply means at least an hour in every zone, all at once. Infrequently means monthly during the cool months and no more than weekly during the hottest part of summer. If your grass looks dry before the month/week is up, water longer next time. Deep watering grows deep, drought resistant roots. Infrequent watering allows the top layer of soil to dry completely which kills off many shallow rooted weeds.

2. Mow at the highest setting on your mower. Most grasses are the most dense when mowed tall. Bermuda, centipede, and bent grasses are the most dense when mowed at the lowest setting on your mower. Dense grass shades out weeds and uses less water when tall. Dense grass feeds the deep roots you’re developing in 1 above.

3. Fertilize regularly. I fertilize 4 times per year using organic fertilizer. Which fertilizer you use is much less imporant than numbers 1 and 2 above.