Originally Posted by
GonzoDawg
Brian, in my experience centipede seed is no good. Your best method for establishing centipede is through sod. The 1st thing I would consider though is the Ph. Centipede prefers an acidic soil, around 5 and definitely no higher than 6. If you do choose to seed, wait until after the last frost. Lightly till the soil or rake it heavily, put your seed down at 2 lbs per thousand square feet. Once you seed you need to water twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening for 10 mins or so. Just enough so the seed stays moist. You could apply some fertilizer that is high in phosphorus to help the seed germinate. Once the seed is up you can apply a more balanced fertilizer to grow it in.
Some things to know about Centipede. It has been sold as a lazy mans grass. For years people believed you didn't have to fertilize it, you didn't have to water is, and you don't have to mow it very often. All of which are true if you don't mind you lawn looking like crap. Centipede is apple green in it's natural color. Not very attractive. If you fertilize it you cannot apply more that 1-2 lbs of nitrogen per thousand sq.ft. per year because it will develop a lot of thatch and eventually die. I give it a good dose of fert. in the Spring to get it going and then treat it with iron to keep it green all year. To get the best results you have to mow it at 1-1.5 inches. This means contrary to what has been sold to people you have to mow more often. Allowing it to grow too high results in what has been called "centipede decline". Which means in my opinion "it just dies and we don't know why so we made up a name for it". Also it needs to be watered just like every other plant in the world other than cactus. Can centipede make an attractive lawn, you bet. It's just not the "lazy mans" grass that it has been sold as.