So far, our fall has been unusually dry with warmer temperatures. Even though our average annual rainfall is around sixty-two inches per year, we don’t always receive rain exactly when we need it. There are times when we need to apply additional water. During dry weather, employ the following water management practices to improve the water efficiency of your lawn and landscape.
Mulching helps conserve water. On bare ground, about sixty percent of the water can be lost through evaporation. A two to three-inch layer of mulch will help hold onto the water so the plants can use it. Try to mulch the entire root zone when possible or at least apply mulch all the way around the plants out to the end of the branches.
Irrigate on as needed basis during dry periods. Credit: Larry Williams
When watering, a thorough soaking to wet the soil to a depth of six to eight inches is much better for plants than light, frequent watering. Three to five gallons of water applied to one spot under the canopy of trees or shrubs should thoroughly saturate the root zone in that location. During dry periods, as a general rule), twenty-five percent of the root system, when watered thoroughly, can absorb all the water a plant requires at any given time.
When watering lawns, apply one inch of water per week when we are not getting rain. Although many sprinklers have irrigation rates of ¼ inch per hour, some may apply up to one inch per hour. Measure your irrigation rate and uniformity by placing several open-top containers of the same size under the sprinkler and see how long it takes to apply a known amount of water such as ½ inch.
An efficient irrigation program on turf should not begin until the lawn grass shows signs of moisture stress. Symptoms include a dull and bluish-green color and leaf blades folding. The most efficient time to irrigate is between sunset and sunrise because of less evaporation, less wind and lower temperatures. Early morning is the next most effective time to irrigate while midday is the least efficient.
Avoid fertilizing drought-stressed plants. Fertilizers are chemical salts and will dehydrate roots when water is in short supply. If you need to apply a pesticide, make certain the plant is not wilted at the time and spray during early morning or late afternoon. You should also avoid unnecessary pruning of plants during drought. Pruning encourages new growth, which has a high demand for water.
It’s hard to have a great yard full of Centipedegrass isn’t it? All the fertilizer, watering, aerating, weed spraying, fungicide spraying, insect spraying, the list is never-ending and wallet draining. Except, it’s not hard and doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s easy. In fact, it’s so easy that people even make it hard because they think it should be. The list of basic tips to achieve a great yard of Centipedegrass is very short, let’s get into it.
FertilizingProperly – Keep it to a minimum! Centipedegrass has a very low Nitrogen (N) requirement for optimum growth and development (0.4 lbs – 2 lbs/1000 ft 2 per year). Centipede is naturally light green in color and trying to force the deep green of Kentucky Bluegrass upon it will almost certainly do it harm. There are many excellent quality Centipedegrass lawns in the Panhandle that have never received a single prill of fertilizer. Don’t take my word for it though, the UF/IFAS publication Centipedegrass for Florida Lawns says, “Established centipedegrass lawns require about 50% less nitrogen fertilizer than other lawn grasses grown in Florida. Centipedegrass is a low maintenance turfgrass and does not respond well to excessive use of fertilizer, especially nitrogen.”
Centipedegrass lawn that has never been fertilized and mowed regularly when it reaches 3″ to achieve a 2.5″ cut height. Photo courtesy Daniel Leonard.
Timely Mowing – Other than overfertilizing, the next easiest way to cause significant damage to a Centipedegrass lawn is to mow it incorrectly. Centipede prefers a mowing height of around 2.5” and actively growing grass should be mowed every 7-14 days, removing no more than 1/3 of the grass blade. In my experience, this is much higher and often less frequent than many people mow their lawns. All too often, I see Centipede lawns that are allowed to grow tall and unkempt and then mowed to near golf course fairway height with the occasional bare “scalped” spot where the mower ran across an unlevel area of lawn. Mowing short and infrequently is harmful because mowing is inherently a major stress to the grass. You’re asking a lot of a plant by removing a large chunk of photosynthetic leaf tissue and then repeatedly asking the plant to regrow. Be kind to your grass and mow correctly. *Additionally, try to not mow your lawn in droughty conditions as this can exacerbate mowing stress and cause serious lawn issues.
Right Plant, Right Place – Much of the bad rap turfgrass receives comes from people trying to force it to grow where it shouldn’t be. If your yard has areas of significant shade or receives significant foot or vehicle traffic, Centipedegrass (or most any grass for that matter) may not be for you, in those areas at least. Like all turfgrasses (though some are more shade and traffic tolerant than others), Centipedegrass does best in full sun and detests having the soil its roots are going in repeatedly trampled and compacted. In areas with those conditions, maybe having a mulched landscaped bed with shade tolerant plants or a rocked walking path would be more appropriate. You and the grass will certainly be happier working with those options than fighting against your site conditions.
Though maintaining a Centipedegrass lawn is simple, that isn’t to say that if you follow all these tips that your yard will be perfect all the time. There will still be the occasional dieback, weed ingression, mole cricket infestation and the like, however, following the above tips will make your grass much more resilient and equipped to handle those stresses. For more information about Centipedegrass or other horticultural topics, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension office. Happy gardening!
Despite being a near-perfect ornamental for the Panhandle, Crape Myrtle is often misused. Though there are dozens of commercially available varieties in all shapes and sizes, many people choose the wrong one for their yard. The most commonly sold cultivars ‘Natchez’ (white flowers), ‘Muskogee’ (pink flowers), and ‘Tuscarora’ (watermelon red flowers) – all three attain mature heights more than 20’ – are almost always too large for siting near a house or other structure and are often out of scale with landscapes. The simple solution to making the best use of Crape Myrtle in smaller yards (certainly not dramatic pruning – Crape Murder is among the worst landscape sins), is to select a smaller growing variety and ‘Tonto’ is a personal favorite in this category.
‘Tonto’ Crape Myrtle, one of the selections that emerged from Dr. Don Egolf’s Crape Myrtle breeding program at the U.S. National Arboretum over 50 years ago, is among my favorite Crape Myrtle varieties for several reasons. First, Tonto’s fuchsia hued flowers are as vibrant as flowers come; they practically glow in the landscape. The flower show lasts for several months and are a valuable food source for pollinators, bees in particular, in the late summer when few things are blooming. Tonto also is a relatively slow grower that only reaches about 10’ tall and wide at maturity. This allows the variety to be exceedingly versatile in landscapes as it can be used in the background of planting beds, as a specimen plant, limbed up as a small tree in open areas, or even placed in very large containers. Finally, beyond just the flower show and ideal size, ‘Tonto’ has uniquely attractive, cream colored, exfoliating bark and reliably attractive fall foliage. Both these features add interest to landscapes, even when ‘Tonto’ isn’t flowering.
Though ‘Tonto’ sports many unique qualities, it shares many other excellent traits and growing preferences with its Crape Myrtle kin. For best results growing any Crape Myrtle, trees should always be sited in full sun, at least 6-8 hours a day. Shading will result in greatly reduced flowering and lanky plants. Regular watering during the first year after planning while trees are becoming established is helpful, as is periodic fertilizer application. Once established, ‘Tonto’ and all other Crape Myrtles are exceedingly drought tolerant and can get by on their own with minimal inputs from gardeners.
If you’ve been struggling with a Crape Myrtle that has outgrown its site or thinking about planting a new Crape, I’d encourage you to give ‘Tonto’ a look. It’s an outstanding shrub/small tree, will reward you with flaming fuchsia flowers and smooth cream-colored bark each summer, and will never outgrow its space. Plant one today! For more information on growing Crape Myrtles or any other horticultural topic, contact us at the UF/IFAS Calhoun County Extension Office. Happy gardening.
I remember going into a neighborhood to diagnose a lawn problem in Crestview during spring a number of years ago. The centipedegrass lawn was in a state of decline. This was the front yard of the original model home for the neighborhood. The original owner sold the house and moved. The new owner, not familiar with North Florida lawns, was dissatisfied with the condition of his front yard.
All of the residents in this neighborhood were new to Florida.
At the time of my visit, the neighborhood was approximately ten-years-old. The original owner of the home was new to Florida, as well. He had only lived in the home for about two years before selling the house and moving to another state.
The original homeowner purchased the model home when the neighborhood was new and became the neighborhood lawn guru.
Imagine this situation… the entire neighborhood was new, everyone living in the neighborhood was new to Florida, not having a clue how to correctly maintain their new centipedegrass lawns.
Centipedegrass decline. Credit: Larry Williams
A sure way to kill a centipedegrass lawn is to be a little heavy handed with nitrogen. The natural color of a healthy centipedegrass lawn is light green, almost a crabapple green. The original homeowner was fertilizing his lawn as if it were a bermudagrass or fescuegrass lawn. Centipedegrass will not put up with this. As a result of “overdosing” his lawn with nitrogen, the lawn took on an unnatural dark green color. Short-term (two to three years), centipedegrass will appear to respond nicely to too much nitrogen. But after several years, irregular areas within a centipedegrass lawn will turn bright yellow in spring, followed by turning brown and dying back to bare ground as a result of too much nitrogen. The condition is called centipedegrass decline.
Healthy centipedegrass lawn with correct light green color. Credit: Dr. Bryan Unruh
I heard a minister ask the question, “Does the person you’re following know where he is going?” This was in reference to a parable found in the Bible in Matthew 15:14 where Jesus stated, “If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” This expression has many implications but basically is a caution about the dangers of following a leader who is clueless.
Unfortunately, this self-appointed lawn guru was clueless as to how to correctly manage a centipedegrass lawn. A few years following his overdoing it with fertilizer and then moving, his former lawn began to die in patches, progressively followed by other neighborhood lawns doing the same, almost like a domino effect. Who you choose to follow is important.
Since 2020, we have delivered timely webinars using Zoom and Facebook Live to reach Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE! viewers. In 2024, we are changing things up just a bit. Due to changes in the way Zoom and Facebook interface we will only be transmitting live through Zoom.
What does that mean for our Facebook viewers? We will still post Events about upcoming programs with links to register for the episode and will continue to share videos after they are uploaded to YouTube (usually this is within 24 hours). Thank you for your patience as we make this change
Below is our lineup for 2024 – we hope you will join us!
Weeds can be the bane of the gardener’s existence and Extension Agents get a lot of questions on how to manage them throughout the year. Whether you are growing edibles, ornamentals, or turfgrass you have probably encountered a plant out of place which is basically the general definition of a weed. Just like with any other landscape challenge the first thing you need to do when dealing with weeds is accurate identification. Understanding the life cycle of the pest (weed in this case) you are targeting will be key for the most effective control with minimal inputs. Your local Extension office can assist with weed identification, and you can find a list by county here.
If you missed the live broadcast, you can watch the video on YouTube
Below are the links that were shared during the episode in the order discussed if you would like to follow along:
We have one more episode of Gardening in the Panhandle LIVE! scheduled this year on October 12th. We hope you will join us for Herbs and Cool Season Edibles!
