Centipedegrass is a warm-season grass. Southern zones. Requires acidic soils; phosphorus applications should be strictly gated without a soil test. It greens up around 65°F soil temperature.
It needs mild winters (zones 7–9) and won't survive hard freezes up north.
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The typical dates our alert engine would have texted a centipedegrass lawn, replayed with today's rules on archived weather from 2019 to 2025. Each range runs from the earliest to the latest city we tested in that zone; open a zone for its cities and the month-by-month calendar. Simulated dates, not texts we sent or observed emergence.
| Zone | Spring pre-emergent | First feeding | Fall pre-emergent | Cities tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 6Marginal | Mar 20 to Apr 21 | Jun 3 to Jun 7 | Aug 12 to Sep 10 | Topeka, Hebron, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Indianapolis |
| Zone 7 | Mar 2 to Mar 23 | May 3 to May 6 | Aug 16 to Sep 29 | Oklahoma City, Shelbyville, Knoxville, Nashville, Richmond |
| Zone 8 | Feb 5 to Feb 28 | Apr 6 to Apr 16 | Sep 10 to Oct 12 | Jackson, Dallas, Macon, Forsyth, Birmingham |
| Zone 9 | Jan 15 to Feb 7 | Mar 3 to Mar 17 | Oct 9 to Oct 20 | Brandon, Houston, New Orleans, Lake Charles, Tallahassee |
| Zone 10Marginal | Year-round rounds: Jan 3, Apr 3, Jul 3 and Oct 3 | Mar 3 to Mar 6 | Rounds instead | Naples, Fort Myers, Vero Beach, Orlando, Phoenix |
How these dates are set, how much they move year to year, and what to do if you are early or late: When to apply pre-emergent for crabgrass.
Grass facts from Clemson University Cooperative Extension and University of Georgia Extension guidance. How our timing models work
When the soil says so, which moves by zone and by year. Replaying our alert engine on recent weather, the spring pre-emergent text for centipedegrass went out Mar 20 to Apr 21 in zone 6; Mar 2 to Mar 23 in zone 7; Feb 5 to Feb 28 in zone 8; Jan 15 to Feb 7 in zone 9. Your ZIP's live soil reading decides the actual week.
Not until the lawn has fully greened up and the soil holds near 65°F. In our replays the first feeding text went out Jun 3 to Jun 7 in zone 6; May 3 to May 6 in zone 7; Apr 6 to Apr 16 in zone 8; Mar 3 to Mar 17 in zone 9; Mar 3 to Mar 6 in zone 10.
Centipedegrass does best in USDA zones 7, 8, 9 and can be grown with extra care in zone 6 and 10. Centipedegrass is a warm-season grass. It needs mild winters (zones 7–9) and won't survive hard freezes up north.
About 1.5–2″ in spring and fall and 1.5–2″ through summer, never taking more than a third of the blade in one mowing.