centipede

Michael – posted 10 February 2003 09:43

I live in Mt. Pleasant SC outside of Charleston. The ground is of course mostly sand. I have two dogs & need a strong grass. I currently have centipede & from what I read it’s good because it doesn’t grow fast therefore I only need to cut the lawn once a week, but it doesn’t grow deep & is not good for high traffic. I don’t want to tear up the entire lawn & resod. What can I do & what is the best grass under these conditions. Can I just seed with the new grass & let it take over the centipede? Also I have one spot on the side of my house with not much sun & is bear to the dirt, what can grow there? The rest of my lawn has plenty of sun.

Chris – posted 17 March 2003 12:23

Michael,

It is a shame that no one has replied to your message. I live in Charleston myself and the home I bought only had the front lawn sodded. I would like to seed the back, but have read about the traffic of Centipede being listed at Moderate. We don’t have pets, but are expecting our first child in September and I would like to have a lawn that will put up with day to day activity on it.

I’m not sure if my situation is the same as Michael’s, but can anyone confirm of the tolerance one can expect with Centipede?

Thanks.

voiceofexp – posted 23 March 2003 07:09

I don’t know of any grass that stands up to traffic unless maybe Bahia which you don’t want! Centipede usually will choke any other grasses except St. Augustine and crabgrass. St. Augustine is a good choice for sandy soils in your area. It also does well in some shade. It is a little more courser grass than Centipede. I don’t know of any turfgrass that will grow in complete shade. Sandy soils need more watering and a little more fertilizer, however Centipede and St Augustine can be over fertilized and cause problems. Be careful with the amount of nitrogen. Compatible herbicides can be used on both varieties, however, some varieties of St Augustine do not tolerate 24D herbicide. Finally don’t trim to close or scalp either variety. I have Centipede in my front yard and St Augustine in the back. Good Luck

specklbug – posted 21 July 2005 13:03

I would highly recommend Zyosia. I live in Atlanta and had a very shady backyard. It is much softer and plusher than Bermuda and tolerates a lot of shade. I kept mine at 2.5-3″ and you didn’t want to have your shoes on when you walked on it! Great for kids and pets!

Texas Creek Thom Henry – posted 22 July 2005 14:42

If you can get some bermuda going, MSMA will kill the centipede but not bermuda. Flozifop does the opposite, btw.

Zoysias is great grass but takes forever to get going.