How to plant Centipede grass plugs

There are 2 methods for planting Centipede plugs

1^st method:  Planting Centipede plugs from sod

• Plant a small section of Centipede Sod
• Wait 3 weeks for it to root in
• Transplant plugs from that sod to other parts of your lawn
• This is the main method for plugging Centipede, and I will go through it in detail below

2^nd method:  Planting Centipede plugs that come in trays

• This method works well for planting plugs in a small area
• You can buy trays online and have them shipped to you, which is convenient
• But, if you have large areas to plug, it will be much more expensive than harvesting plugs from sod
• Watch this video to see how to plant Centipede plugs from trays (the video shows planting Zoysia plugs, but the process is the same)

Planting Centipede plugs from sod

Step 1: Plant a small section of Centipede sod

• Water your sod according to the sod supplier’s recommendations
• Wait 3 weeks for the sod to root in before plugging

Step 2: Kill the grass or weeds in the area you will be planting the plugs

Chemicals

• Glyphosphate
  • The old brand name is Round-Up, but there are many formulations 
    • I use Hi-Yield Killzall
  • Follow the directions on the label for mixing and spraying
    • Spray it, wait a week, spray it again, wait a week, and it’s ready for plugging

Tilling

• This will get rid of your existing grass without the need for chemicals 

Solarizing

• Solarizing involves tilling, watering, and then covering an area with clear plastic during the summer for at least 4 weeks.  This is a more involved process but comes with the benefit of killing seeds in the ground, which the other methods don’t do

Step 3: Water the Centipede sod and planting area the night before plugging

• Moist soil is much easier to plug than dry soil, particularly if your soil has a heavy clay content   
  • Don’t over water  
  • If soil gets too muddy the plugger may clog up, or plugs may have difficulty coming out of the ground     
• Here is a link on how to deal with clogs while using the ProPlugger

Step 4:  Take plugs out of the planting area 6″ apart

• Use the 2” depth ring 
  • You can use the 4″ depth ring if you are transplanting from established grass and want to keep all 4″ of roots  
• Dump your plugs into a wheelbarrow
• Dispose of this soil
  • You can keep this soil for Step 8 if it doesn’t have weed seeds in it
• If your soil is really hard to plug, try watering it again before plugging it
  • Wait a little while after watering it to plug.  It takes a while for the water to go all the way through the soil
• If your having trouble with your plugger clogging follow these instructions to unclog the ProPlugger and prevent future clogs

Step 5:  Take plugs out of the Centipede sod 3″ apart

• Taking plugs out of sod can be easier if you mow it pretty short before plugging

Step 6: Take the plugs over to the planting area

• You must be gentle with the plugs when transporting them
  • Some soils can crumble if you aren’t careful
• If you transport your plugs with a wheel barrow and your soil is crumbly take the following precautions
  • Don’t stack plugs too high.  The ones on top can crush the ones on the bottom
  • Carefully dump the plugs on the ground, or take them out of the wheel barrow by hand

Step 7:  Plant the Centipede plugs

• Sometimes when you are taking plugs you run into rocks or roots
  • Sod plugs or holes you plugged can end up being too short
• You can still plant these plugs
  • Remove some soil from the bottom of the plug if it sits too high
  • Add some loose soil into the hole if the plug sits too low

Step 8:  Fill up the holes you plugged in the sod

• Use a commercial soil mix that doesn’t have weed seeds in it
• Rake it back and forth until it fills the holes
• Mowing the sod short before plugging also helps the soil rake into the holes easily

Step 9:  Water the new Centipede grass plugs

• Water the new grass plugs just as you would new sod
• Your watering schedule will probably look something like this
  • Weeks 1 – 2:  3 times a day for 20 minutes
  • Week 3: 2 times a day for 20 minutes
  • Week 4:  Once daily
  • Thereafter:  Follow the normal watering recommendations for the grass you are plugging
• This is the schedule I use, but you need to adjust it for how hot your climate is and your soil type
  • These links will help you determine your watering schedule
    • https://sodlawn.com/sod-care/sod-watering
    • https://gvt.net/turf-care/new-sod-care
• Use a watering timer 

• You can purchase timers online or at home improvement stores.  
  • They can be a bit tricky to learn at first, but once you get the hang of it they are invaluable time savers. 
• Use sprinklers that are adjustable in both directions

• • This makes watering more accurate 

Step 10:  Water the sod you plugged from

• Usually twice a week for 3 weeks
• After that just follow the normal watering directions for your grass you are plugging

Step 11:  Wait 6 weeks for the sod to regrow, then plant another section of plugs

• You can plug an area 3 to 4 larger than the sod you are plugging from
  • For example: If you have 1 pallet of sod (~450 sq ft) you can plug about 1,200 – 1,600 sq ft.  
  • That is if you take plugs out of your sod every 3” apart and plant every 6” apart  
  • The first time you plug new sod, you’ll probably get 3 times the area of sod, because you have to be careful plugging around edges of sod pieces that fully haven’t grown in together  
  • The second time around, and thereafter you should be able to get 4 times the area of plugs from your sod    
• Plugs usually fill in within 1 year.  Though it may take 2 years depending on conditions

Follow this link for additional information on planting plugs from Sod