Believe it or not, scalping is a landscaping practice gardeners do intentionally at different times of the year to remove thatch from a lawn. However, this method only benefits specific grass types like Bermuda and Zoysia. So, if you have scalped your Seville, Palmetto, or maybe your Floratam, then it was definitely an oops moment. But before you start to panic, let me share with you what to do after scalping your lawn unintentionally on the wrong type of grass.
What to Do After Scalping Your Lawn? (The Short Answer)
If you have scalped your lawn by mistake, then the best thing to do is not mow it again until it has recovered. In the meantime, you should give it some additional water and fertilizer. Also, make sure to remove all the clippings from the surface of the grass.
What to Expect in Terms of Scalped Lawn Recovery Time
Even scalping the right type of grass at the wrong time of year can be a problem. The grass needs to be in the growing stage to recover as quickly as possible. Therefore, recovery times can vary depending on when in the year you have scalped your grass. Generally, scalping the lawn while it’s in the growing stages takes about 4-8 weeks to recover.
While scalping some lawns can be beneficial, over-scalping or scalping at the wrong time may result in the lawn never coming back. Scalping is especially risky with grass like St. Augustine because this grass type has stolons or runners that sit high in the grass bed and grow laterally to form new roots and new plants.
So, if you scalp a stolon or runner, you will have killed that part of the plant if it’s not rooted yet. Now, runners on St Augustine grass can grow up to about 2 feet long, and one plant can spread over four feet across your lawn. That’s a lot of grass that might not come back. But the main plant should hopefully be ok.
How to Fix a Scalped Lawn (3 Tips to Speed Up Recovery)
Scalping is something that most of us end up doing at some point. I have a few sections in my yard that are a bit bumpy and, unfortunately, get scalped every so often when I forget to avoid them with my lawn mower. So, let me share with you how I repair my scalped lawn; yes, this works on big areas. Hopefully, you can follow the same method and fix the scalping problem in your yard.
Stop Mowing the Affected Area
My number one tip is to stay away from the affected area with your lawn mower, even if sections start to grow again. Part of the recovery process for scalped grass is to get over the initial shock of the scalp. When you cut your lawn on a regular day, the grass plant shifts energy to repairing the cut the mower blade has made and away from root and blade growth.
However, when your grass is scalped, the plant uses most of its energy to fix various parts of the plant, including the stolons, culm, and blades. So, running over it with the mower will force the grass to repair the cuts instead of the whole plant. Also, adding stress will slow the recovery process and potentially push the grass over the edge, so it never recovers.
Give the Area Some Extra Water
During the lawn’s recovery, the grass will need plenty of water because it uses its energy from photosynthesis to repair the damaged structure. So, more damage equals more water. I find that spraying with the garden hose or switching on the irrigation system in the affected area for an extra ten minutes really helps speed up the repair of a scalped lawn.
Spread Some Additional Fertilizer
Another thing that can affect a scalped lawn’s recovery time is how many nutrients are available at the roots. After scalping, your grass needs more nutrients than are probably available in the soil, so some extra feed goes a long way.
Now, you’ll want to avoid using a slow-release fertilizer as a large percentage of this feed is designed to release over 6-8 weeks. So, grab a premium liquid fertilizer that can get to work straight away. But first, follow the application guidelines since too much fertilizer will do more harm than good.
How to Prevent Scalping Your Lawn Again
Now that we have looked at what to do after scalping a lawn and the different stages of scalped lawn repair, let’s go over how to prevent scalping your lawn again in the future.
Know Your Grasses Preferred Cutting Height
Different grasses like to be cut at different heights. There isn’t one height that fits all. With a little bit of research, you’ll be able to mow your lawn at the correct height to avoid causing and scalping in the future.
For example, St. Augustine likes to be cut at 3½-4 inches tall, whereas Tall Fescue likes to be cut at 2-3 inches on normal days and an extra ½ inch higher on really hot days. As you’ve probably already learned the hard way, just 1 inch can be the difference between a nicely cut lawn and a not-so-great scalped lawn.
Adjust Your Cutting Deck
When figuring out what to do after scalping the lawn, one extra tip is to adjust your cutting deck and know exactly what height it is cutting at. For example, my lawn mower has a bunch of numbers next to the cutting height adjustment level that I thought stood for the height of the cut like 3 meant 3 inches, 4 meant 4 inches, and so on.
Was this right? No. For a moment, I thought I had a broken adjustment lever, but no, this is just how it was designed. As it turned out, 3 was, in fact, 2 ½ inches, and 4 was 3 ½ inches. A quick measure between the cutting blade and the ground soon spotted the difference.
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