Centipede Grass
Lawn care in Melbourne is a full time occupation in our warmer climate. Grass can suffer a lot with the constant sunshine and heat making lawn care a difficult task. One answer is Centipede Grass which originated in china but made its way over here in the early 20th century. As it is very low maintenance and adapts well to a warm climate it is becoming more and more popular. It is currently in use around Florida as lawn grass and in parks and on golf courses.
If looked after properly it will give you no problems whatsoever. It is highly resistant to pests and moss on the rare occasions water logging is an issue. It thrives in acidic-sandy soils like we have round Naples and can grown almost anywhere warm. It is slow growing and not as soft as St. Augustine grass for example, but this is offset by the hardiness and low maintenance properties. The main benefit is that it can tolerate heat and direct sunlight for a long period of time without suffering any ill effects.
Centipede grass does need good old Melbourne lawn care with plenty of water once a week and infrequent feeding with a nitrogen based food. Don’t overfeed it though as it can cause more problems than it solves.
For homeowners who live in our beautiful state Centipede grass is an ideal alternative to standard lawns if they aren’t living up to your expectations, or suffer in the heat.
Lawn Strategy
Would you believe there is such a thing as a Lawn Strategy? Well there is when you run a lawn service.
It’s based on the planning ahead of your lawn care to ensure it is ready for heavier use in good weather.
For instance, all plants balance their root mass with their shoot mass. Meaning if you cut your grass too short then the roots will only grow to the same length. This will decrease the plants ability to reach water underground.
Ideally for the hotter weather like here on Space Coast you need between 1″ and 3″ to maintain a healthy plant or lawn. If you want your lawn to be short enough to practice your golf on then you will need to water it regularly. The best time to do this is at dusk. Then the water doesn’t get evaporated and has the opportunity to sink into the ground before the next day.
You also need to consider your fertilizer. An iron rich one will give you a nice deep green, while being rich in nitrogen will allow you to avoid a too lush top growth. Magnesium forms part of the chlorophyll which allows the plant to turn sunlight into energy. There are also organic fertilizers which will achieve the same aim.
Fertilizing your lawn little and often will make my job of cutting much easier and give you a much better end result. Once the fertilizer runs out then the plant dies back a little. Doing it little and often will minimize this effect, giving you a much better result.