How best to seed Tifblair Centipede lawn?

freedomdepartment – posted 20 May 2010 11:10

Hi all – I’m a homeowner fixing to plant a new lawn, of Tifblair Centipede (fell in love with it when I went down to the NC State University Turfgrass Research Station down on Lake Wheeler Road in Raleigh and walked around on it for a while), and would like to know to do it best.

I am located just south of Centerville, NC – in the northeastern part of the state near the fall line from the piedmont onto the coastal plain, USDA hardiness zone 7B, about 44-46 inches of rain per year. Soil type is sandy loam, very acidic, and considered much more fertile than the red clay soil in surrounding towns. Generally level with some very slight sloping. Good drainage. No shade.

I am going to be using the Pennington seed they sell at Lowe’s, which is Certified Tifblair Centipede, 99.9% weed-free, Penn-Coated, and with BIO-170 mulch mixed in.

I’ve heard that the biggest mistake I can make is to overfertilize. So should I not lime the soil, not put compost or peat moss down, and not use starter fertilizer?

Also- in the past several summers, we’ve been having record droughts combined with record heat waves…i.e. no rain for weeks at a time, plus temperatures in the 90s and above. Will Tifblair Centipede survive this? I don’t have an irrigation system, and will not be putting one in…so this needs to survive on nature alone or not at all.

Also, can I use a dethatcher on this grass, or will that tear it up?

Thanks!

turfgrass – posted 20 May 2010 16:09

just buy sod.

benjammin – posted 16 May 2011 14:05

Do not Lime! …unless your ph is less than 4 or 4.5 but I seriously doubt it is. Centipede loves acidic soil.And no starter fert! Check NC State/Ag Ext. Turf files for more info: http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/Centipede is a low fert turf.And, hate to tell you, but centipede seed needs to stay moist for 21 days. Without irrigation or a religious sprinkler moving schedule.

benjammin – posted 16 May 2011 14:07

doh! Just realized the original post was from last year, oh well.