Dead spots in Centipede lawn - Ask Extension
I made a big mistake and treated onions in my centipede lawn with Roundup. I did this in February, while the Centipede was dormant, because I had rea...
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Dead spots in Centipede lawn #788669
Asked April 30, 2022, 5:13 PM EDT
I made a big mistake and treated onions in my centipede lawn with Roundup. I did this in February, while the Centipede was dormant, because I had read that the roundup would not harm the warm weather grass while it was dormant.
Not only did the roundup not kill the onions, it killed the Centipede. When I returned from 3 weeks out of town in April, I found that the Centipede had greened up but there were big dead spots in my lawn. My first thought was "brown patch" but I am pretty sure that I did the damage with the Roundup.
My question for you is, what should I do to promote the regrowth of the Centipede? I believe that I need to do something to prevent the dead spots from being taken over by weeds. But what? Weed'n Feed? Centipede seed (which I haven't had any success with in the past).
Replugging with Centipede?
Thanks,
John McQuaid<personal data hidden>
Wake County North Carolina
Expert Response
I suspect that the root of the kill-back of centipede was that it was not fully dormant, alas. I suggest you plug centipede where you’ve lost it, and water properly.
Some wild onion, as you’ve discovered, is resistant to glyphosate. Personally, I pull it, but I have only gardens. NCSU suggests a number of alternative herbicides, https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/weeds-in-turf/wild-garlic/, but few can be used on centipede. Now that you have garlic growing up in bare spots, hit it hard while it’s actively growing. (You might even try a stronger glyphosate solution.)
Good luck.
