How to identify it
Short upright stems off thick stolons — the “centipede” look — with blunt-tipped, apple-green (not deep green) blades.
Growing conditions
| Sun | Full sun to light pine shade |
| Traffic | Poor–fair; slow to recover |
| Water | Low; adapted to sandy, acidic, low-fertility soils |
| Overseed rate | 0.25–0.5 lb / 1,000 sq ft |
Where it fits — by region
- Cool-season states: Not adapted.
- Transition zone states: Too cold-sensitive for all but the state’s southern edge.
- Warm-season states: The low-effort choice — feed it almost nothing and let it be.
Caring for a Centipedegrass lawn
The calendar does the heavy lifting: establish and feed from late spring through summer, put pre-emergent down in late winter, and stop nitrogen 6–8 weeks before frost. Local dates for every one of those jobs come from the lawn calendar lookup or your city's calendar page. Quantities come from the seed calculator and the fertilizer calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How short should I mow Centipedegrass?
Keep Centipedegrass between 1″ and 2″, and never remove more than a third of the blade in one cut. Mow at the taller end in heat or drought — longer blades shade soil and deepen roots.
How much Centipedegrass seed do I need?
0.25–0.5 lbs per 1,000 sq ft for a new lawn, 0.25–0.5 lbs for overseeding, with germination in 14–28 days of consistent moisture. The seed calculator converts your lawn's square footage.
How much fertilizer does Centipedegrass need?
About 0.5–1 lbs of actual nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft per year — and the low end is safer; overfeeding is the classic way centipede declines, applied through the warm growing months. The fertilizer calculator turns that into pounds of product from your bag's N-P-K.
Where does Centipedegrass grow well?
Low-input Southeastern lawns on sandy acidic soil, from the Carolinas along the Gulf.