I reside in coastal South Carolina and recently received a soil test for my lawn, which consists of centipede grass. Unfortunately, the grass is in poor condition. My yard has some shaded areas and challenges with pine tree roots. I’d appreciate your recommendations for improvement, as the soil test didn’t provide clear guidance. Thank you!
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Tuna Chest
Centipede soil test results. Need help.
I reside in coastal South Carolina and recently received a soil test for my lawn, which consists of centipede grass. Unfortunately, the grass is in poor condition. My yard has some shaded areas and challenges with pine tree roots. I’d appreciate your recommendations for improvement, as the soil test didn’t provide clear guidance. Thank you!
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You need phosphorus and some potasium, also some lime to raise the ph, the rest is fine as far as I can tell. The sodium might be a bit high but that might be normal for your area. Do 8,10 pounds of lime per 1000 sq feet and test again in fall.
That ground looks dry, make sure you water properly if you want it to start spreading. If you can't push a screw driver in the ground fairly easy you might want to aerate. Do the screw driver after you water.
You can also get some sod and make plugs for the bare areas and have a full lawn by the end of summer. What you got it will take some time to fill in on its own
That ground looks dry, make sure you water properly if you want it to start spreading. If you can't push a screw driver in the ground fairly easy you might want to aerate. Do the screw driver after you water.
You can also get some sod and make plugs for the bare areas and have a full lawn by the end of summer. What you got it will take some time to fill in on its own
Here is a recommendation from SuperSod Lawn Coach regarding centipede and fertilizer choice:
Thank you for reaching out and asking! The 5-10-30 has a minimal amount of Phosphorous (P) but a substantial amount of Potassium (K) which is needed for root health and growth. Centipede does need phosphorous and potassium as do all sods. It it what keeps the plants healthy. Centipede does NOT like Nitrogen (N) so there is minimal nitrogen in our Centipede fertilizer. The product you mentioned that is 15-0-15 is far too high in nitrogen. Fertilizers are always labeled in the same order which is Nitrogen - Phosphorous - Potassium.
Remember not all soil tests are created equal. Where did you get that test from? Centipede is a VERY slow grower by nature and usually does not like much N or P. Watering is key. Do NOT fall into the wetting agent trap. There are VERY FEW that have been proven in studies to improve water retention or penetration. You may need to aerate but be careful not to be too aggressive because centipede is like St. Augustine and Bermuda and spreads by stolons but the stolons are ALL above ground. This is why verticutting or aggressive aerating may do more harm than good.
Thank you for reaching out and asking! The 5-10-30 has a minimal amount of Phosphorous (P) but a substantial amount of Potassium (K) which is needed for root health and growth. Centipede does need phosphorous and potassium as do all sods. It it what keeps the plants healthy. Centipede does NOT like Nitrogen (N) so there is minimal nitrogen in our Centipede fertilizer. The product you mentioned that is 15-0-15 is far too high in nitrogen. Fertilizers are always labeled in the same order which is Nitrogen - Phosphorous - Potassium.
Remember not all soil tests are created equal. Where did you get that test from? Centipede is a VERY slow grower by nature and usually does not like much N or P. Watering is key. Do NOT fall into the wetting agent trap. There are VERY FEW that have been proven in studies to improve water retention or penetration. You may need to aerate but be careful not to be too aggressive because centipede is like St. Augustine and Bermuda and spreads by stolons but the stolons are ALL above ground. This is why verticutting or aggressive aerating may do more harm than good.
when you say shaded, how shaded? i mean, is it shaded by trees all day, most of the day, only a few hours? In the past, fungus and grubs have killed off patches of my centipede. not saying that‘s definitely the problem but it could be. and it doesn’t like a lot of foot traffic, either. mine has looked similar to yours.
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