The Best Centipede Grass Seed for Home Lawns

Home lawns throughout the southern two-thirds of the United States are filled with turfgrasses like St. Augustine, zoysia and bermuda grass. One of the most commonly found types of turfgrass is centipede grass. Performing best in acidic soils and warm, humid climates, centipede grass is a warm season turfgrass that can be found in many home lawns located primarily in the southeastern part of the country.

Although centipede grass can be purchased and installed as pallets of sod, another frequent method of installation is with the use of centipede grass seed. Grass seed is a popular option because the end results are pretty much the same as they would be with a normal sod installation—the installation process also requires a lot less energy exertion compared to sod installation.

One of Sod Solutions’ best selections for centipede seed is a new product called Lawnifi Santee Centipede Seed. Santee® Centipede, now offered as a seeded variety under the Lawnifi product line, features an extensive root system that promotes rapid recovery after damage or other environmental stressors as well as increased absorption of water or other nutrients.

Each individual grass seed is coated with a layer of Lawnifi fertilizer designed to promote root growth and successful establishment at planting. Lawnifi Santee Centipede Seed is the best grass seed for filling in bare spots or starting a new lawn. Read more about its many benefits and features below.

Lawnifi Santee Centipede Seed Product Overview

Common centipede grass is a relic of the past. Santee Centipede is an improved, more robust centipede grass variety that is a patented and trademarked product of Sod Solutions, Inc. Now available as a seeded variety in two and 25 pound sizes, Lawnifi Santee Centipede Seed features an abundance of improved turfgrass characteristics including an overall superior turfgrass quality once establishment is complete.

Santee Centipede grass has a dense growth habit that creates a uniform, thick canopy-like layer over your lawn to outcompete weeds and stand out in the rest of your neighborhood. Above the soil, it has a crab apple green-like color with a blade width of about 5.5 mm while below the soil, it has a strong, robust root system.

This excellent root system allows for it to survive and recover from environmental factors that may damage the grass such as heavy foot traffic, insect or disease damage, weed pressure or even drought.

Santee Centipede also comes with good fall color retention and early spring green-up so that it stays green longer throughout the year compared to other grasses that go dormant earlier or stay dormant longer when temperatures are low.

Once Santee Centipede is fully established, its low maintenance requirements feature a reduced fertility input and a mowing height of 1–2 inches. Learn more in our Santee Centipede Seed Homeowner Maintenance Guide.

As a seeded variety, Lawnifi Santee Centipede Seed has a high germination rate with a coating of Lawnifi fertilizer that promotes rapid establishment to quickly create a gorgeous, healthy lawn. For proper installation and establishment instructions, refer to the next section below.

How to Use Lawnifi Santee Centipede Seed

Lawnifi Santee Centipede Seed can be used in a few different ways: it could be used to create a totally new lawn completely out of seed or for overseeding bare or damaged spots located throughout the lawn. For example, if your grass is doing pretty well for the most part and just has a few spots that could use a little extra help, Lawnifi Santee Centipede Seed can be applied to these small areas to make your lawn have a seamless, uniform appearance.

Overseeding

If your situation closely resembles the latter option, the smaller container might be enough for filling in those small, isolated bare areas. A two pound container will cover about 8,000 sq. ft. if you are overseeding bare areas. Start by hand-tossing the seed in the bare areas you want to cover. Be sure to use garden gloves as the green coating on the seed may leave color on your hands.

If your lawn is mostly bare and you want to overseed the entire thing, you may want to use the 25 pound bag. Use a broadcast or drop spreader like the ones listed below to apply it to your soil. 25 pounds covers 100,000 sq. ft. Set your spreader’s settings to apply the seed at half a pound per 2,000 sq. ft.

New Lawns

If you are wanting to plant seed to start a new lawn, you will want to use a broadcast or drop spreader to apply the grass seed to your lawn. Set your spreader’s settings to use half a pound of seed per 1,000 sq. ft. The small, two pound container will cover 4,000 sq. ft. for new lawns. If however, you choose to use the 25 pound bag, 25 pounds will cover 50,000 sq. ft.

With either use, our guide for planting grass seed and establishment schedule will set your grass seed up for successful establishment and growth. A copy of the product label is provided below for more information.

Lawnifi Santee Centipede Seed is a great alternative to regular grass seed as it has superior turfgrass quality in comparison, requires low maintenance, recovers from damage quickly and is highly drought tolerant. Santee Centipede has a lot more curb appeal than common centipede, making it stand out from other nearby neighboring yards. For more information, be sure to check out All About Centipede Sod and Seed.