Question About Lawn Care Treatment Options For Centipede & Bermuda

6 years ago

Hello,

I have a general question about lawn care treatment for my yard. I am trying to determine if lawn fertilizer treatments that are offered by many national and local companies they are best method for lawn care, or if there are better options. Here is my situation:

- My yard is approximately 0.5 acres in size.

- My front yard is bermuda grass (flat) and my backyard is centipede grass (sloping).

- both front and back yard are mostly direct sun throughout the day

- I do not have any type of sprinkler system.

- I'm located in the Atlanta area.

Going back to my initial question, I'm trying to determine if these lawn services are worth it, whether they work, and if they are a good option? If the answer is 'yes', I'm wondering what I need to look for based on both of my grasses. The reason that I ask is that I previously had a lawn treatment service and don't really remember noticing much of a difference. Also, depending on the lawn care treatment company that you speak to, you receive all different types of responses (for example, some say you should treat centipede and others say you don't need to). If they are not worth it, somebody might just suggest that a sprinkler system is the best investment for a healthy lawn. Or somebody may suggest that the lawn care treatment / fertilizer are a waste of money, etc..

I know this is a lot to chew off, but I'm just trying to understand what is the best method for a healthy, green lawn is.

Thanks in advance!

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Comments (4)

dchall_san_antonio
6 years ago
In general centipede needs much less care than other turf grasses. One of the gurus that used to hang out here said, "drag an empty fertilizer bag over it once every 2 years." Centipede loves acidic soils, low water, and weekly mowing at a low height.

Bermuda, on the other hand, would love it if you fertilized heavily once a month and mowed it very low twice a week at a low setting. If you fertilize it once a month, it will definitely need to be mowed twice a week. If you fertilize it like other grasses (3x per year), it will be a slightly yellower color and might not become as dense as it would with more fert.

With those two paragraphs in mind, anyone you use to care for your lawn should be familiar with the requirements of the two. Watering and mowing are the same, but fertilizer requirements are completely different. Note also, if you were to care for this yourself, you only need to think about the front. The back is mostly a no-brainer.
gil_happy
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you for the info.... from what you said about centipede, it sounds like I don't need to do anything to it other then mow it at low height (which it is done weekly by my landscape company). Since there I don't have a sprinkler system, I was wondering if I need to fertilize or aerate or apply herbicide at any time?

Regarding the Bermuda, thanks again for the info. I def does sound like I should hire a lawn care treatment company to apply fertilizer throughout the year. For bermuda (same as above), does it require aeration or herbicide?
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dchall_san_antonio
6 years ago
Don't expect a lawn care company to come out on a monthly basis to fertilize the bermuda.

It is likely a lawn care company will use a granular herbicide, but they might spot spray with a liquid (preferred method). If they don't do anything, then you do it in April and September.

In my opinion, no lawn needs aeration. If you have hard soil, spray it with any clear shampoo at a rate of 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. Wash that down with 1/2 to 1 inch of irrigation or rain. After 3 weeks you should notice that the soil becomes very soft when it rains or you irrigate. If it is soft but not soft enough for you, repeat the process. You cannot hurt anything with lots of shampoo - at least my wife can't seem to hurt anything. She uses it at a rate of 1 ounces per 3 square inches in her veggie garden. She just squirts it on the soil around the drip line of her plants.
gil_happy
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks....

Question About Lawn Care Treatment Options For Centipede & Bermuda

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Question About Lawn Care Treatment Options For Centipede & Bermuda

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