How to Fertilize Centipede Grass
One of the great qualities of centipede grass is that it requires little care and grows well in sandy soils or other areas where there is little natural fertilizer. A little extra care, however, can make your centipede lawn look even more beautiful. A quick application of fertilizer just once a year, will keep your centipede grass looking its best.
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Instructions
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1
Select an appropriate fertilizer for centipede grass.The low maintenance aspect of centipede grass also means that it does not like too much work. Certain fertilizers can actually be more harmful to your grass than helpful. Be sure to choose a fertilizer without phosphorous, which can damage your centipede lawn, and with only low levels of nitrogen and potassium. A fertilizer with added iron is especially good for your centipede grass. Some manufacturers make a fertilizer specifically for centipede grass, but any 15-0-15 fertilizer will do.
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Determine the appropriate time to fertilize.Applying fertilizer too late in the growing season can slow the growth of centipede grass, and applying it too early can cause damage. The best time to fertilize centipede grass is late spring, about two weeks after your lawn has turned green. If you don't get the fertilizer on within three to four weeks of the centipede grass turning green in the spring, it may be better to wait until next spring. In most areas, centipede grass needs to be fertilized only once per year, but in places with especially sandy soil, fertilizing twice per year can be beneficial. Check with your local Cooperative Extension office to find out if twice-yearly fertilizing is recommended for centipede grass in your area. Find the nearest Cooperative Extension office by checking out the link in the Resources Section.
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3
Set the spreading rate on your spreader.Check the package of the fertilizer for the recommended application rate. The amount of fertilizer you will put on your centipede grass depends on the exact contents of the fertilizer you chose in Step 1. Using the application rate recommended on the package of your fertilizer and set the dial on the spreader to one-half of the recommended rate. (To get good coverage, you will go over the lawn twice, so you only want to set the spreader to half the recommended rate, so that in two passes you will get the recommended spreading rate.)
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Load the spreader.To avoid "burning" your centipede lawn by accidentally spilling fertilizer on it, fill the spreader with fertilizer on a driveway, sidewalk or over a tarp. Simply pour the fertilizer into the spreader, and then sweep up any spills.
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Spread the fertilizer.Start at any corner of your centipede lawn and walk the spreader to the opposite end, turn and make another pass next to the one you just made. Most spreader instructions will tell you to slightly overlap each pass, but because centipede grass is so sensitive to over-fertilization, do not overlap each pass. Repeat until the entire lawn has been spread with fertilizer. At this point you should have fertilized your centipede grass at half the recommended rate, since you set the spreader at half the recommended spread rate in Step 3. Now begin at the same corner again, but this time walk at a 90-degree angle from the direction you first took. In other words, if you fertilized the lawn making your first pass by walking north, your second by walking south, the third by walking north, etc., now you will spread the fertilizer the same way, except by making your first pass by walking east, the second by walking west, the third by walking east, etc.
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Tips & Warnings
Use a fertilizer with weed control additives to give your centipede grass an even better start in the spring. The less grass has to compete with weeds, the better it will grow.
Using a fertilizer with phosphorous can damage centipede grass by inhibiting its ability to absorb iron.
Resources
- Photo Credit Jeff Golenski
