When do you scalp your yard in oklahoma

It will clear the way for new growth and maintain a healthy, beautiful lawn. Because scalping promotes spring growth and new grass is especially vulnerable, make sure to scalp after the final frost of the season.

Scalping too early will expose new grass to dangerous frosts. The only time you should scalp Bermuda grass in the fall is if you plan to overseed your lawn with a cold-resistant grass that will keep your lawn green while your Bermuda is dormant.

After scalping, overseed with your cool weather grass. If you do not plan to overseed your lawn in fall, do not scalp your Bermuda grass until spring. There is no need to scalp Bermuda grass before winter takes hold. It is best to allow Bermuda grass to go naturally dormant in winter and scalp the lawn in the spring, just before green-up.

If you scalp just before winter, the grass will not have the chance to recover from the stresses of scalping, which may make it weaker and more vulnerable to winter conditions. Scalp Bermuda grass to 0. Bermuda grass is more tolerant of scalping than most grass species, so it can recover beautifully from a low scalping.

Also, 0. Scalped Bermuda Grass grows back healthier than un-scalped Bermuda. A good spring scalping removes all the dead grass blades that went dormant in fall, paving the way for new Bermuda growth to get more air and sunlight. Scalping also removes thatch buildup from a Bermuda lawn. If left unchecked, thatch can rob the soil of moisture, prevent fertilizers from reaching the ground, and choke out new growth. Hard, tight, clay soils also impair the movement of air and water into and through the root-zone soil.

In both situations, root growth is restricted, leading to a shallow-rooted turfgrass unable to withstand the stresses of traffic, extreme temperatures, and low moisture. The remedy for compacted soils or hard, tight, clay soils involves the removal of 0. This practice is called core cultivation or aerification. Normally, a machine inserts a hollow metal tine or spoon into the soil and extracts a core from the turf.

The length of the cores will vary due to soil strength and penetration capacity of the coring device, but they should be at least 2 inches in length for effective aeration. Adding weight to the machine and wetting the upper 4 to 6 inches of soil one to two days prior to core cultivation will aid in the penetration of metal tines or spoons. At least two passes should usually be made with the coring unit for each cultivation. Cores displaced on the surface should be allowed to dry, then chopped with a rotary mower.

Proper eye and ear protection as well as a dust mask may be necessary when chopping up cores with a rotary mower. Incorporate the soil back into turf by hand raking with a garden rake or dragging a flexible steel door mat or piece of chain-link fence over the area. Many lawns in Oklahoma would benefit from one or two core cultivations each year to improve the movement of air and water into the root-zone soil.

Core cultivation also reduces excessive thatch layers. The best time to core cultivate is during periods of active plant growth. Core cultivate warm-season turfgrasses just prior to green-up in late winter or early spring and core cultivate cool-season turfgrasses early in the fall. Perennial ryegrass can be planted into warm-season turfgrasses in late September and October to produce a green turf cover from October through April.

Annual ryegrass is best used for temporary soil stabilization of bare ground during the fall and winter when conditions are unfavorable for establishment of warm-season turfgrasses. Remember that overseeding warm-season grasses for winter color will result in more lawn maintenance being required through the winter. This maintenance will include additional mowing, fertilization and watering during dry winters.

The proper steps in overseeding your bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, or buffalograss lawn are listed below. Weeds interfere with the beauty and function of turfgrass areas. However, a small number of weeds in a lawn is tolerable.

A healthy turfgrass is the best defense against weed infestation. Herbicides are important tools for controlling weeds in turf, but repeated severe occurrence of weeds may reflect underlying problems that are not correctable with herbicides.

The first step in weed control is a management program that produces a dense, vigorous, healthy turf of an adapted turfgrass variety by mowing, watering, and fertilizing properly. Severe insect and disease attacks create openings in turf coverage that will allow weed invasion.

These problems should be controlled as they arise. Annual weeds complete their life cycle in one growing season. They come back each year from seed. Crabgrass, goosegrass, foxtail, and sandbur are summer annual grassy weeds.

Knotweed and spurge are summer annual broadleaf weeds. For summer annual weed control with herbicides, apply either a preemergence herbicide two weeks prior to germination crabgrass and foxtails are effectively controlled with preemergence herbicides and their germination can range from late March to early May, depending on location and year or by the application of postemergence herbicides soon after their emergence May and June when weeds are young and actively growing.

The organic arsenicals are safe on bermudagrass and Kentucky bluegrass; whereas, 2,4-D, dicamba, and MCPP combinations are safe on bermudagrass, Kentucky bluegrass, centipede- grass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, and zoysiagrass. Annual bluegrass, rescuegrass, cheat, and downy brome are winter annual grassy weeds. Chickweed and henbit are winter annual broadleaf weeds.

For winter annual weed control with herbicides, apply a preemergent herbicide two weeks prior to germination winter weeds begin germination in late August to early September, if moisture is available; annual bluegrass and chickweed are effectively controlled with preemergence herbicides or soon after their emergence October and November when weeds are young and actively growing.

Portrait or Gallery provides good preemergence control of winter annual broadleaf weeds but no control of winter annual grasses weeds. Some preemergence herbicides control both winter annual grasses and broadleaves. Postemergence control of winter broadleaf weeds in bermudagrass, Kentucky bluegrass, centipedegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue and zoysiagrass is with 2,4-D, dicamba, and MCPP combinations applied in October and November.

A second option for control of winter annual weeds involves the application of Roundup when the bermudagrass is fully dormant usually January or early February. Perennial weeds have the capacity to reproduce by underground vegetative parts such as rhizomes, nutlets, and bulbs. Dallisgrass, dandelion, clover, and nutsedge are perennial weeds. Control Dallisgrass in bermudagrass and Kentucky bluegrass in May and June with postemergence applications of organic arsenicals.

Yellow nutsedge can be partially controlled in bermudagrass and zoysiagrass by applying Pennant preemergence herbicide in late March-early April prior to germination of dormant nutlets. Augustine- grass. Control dandelions and clover in bermudagrass, Kentucky bluegrass, centipedegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, and zoysiagrass in October and November with 2,4-D, Banvel, and MCPP combinations.

Preemergence herbicides are effective in controlling crabgrass, foxtails, annual bluegrass, chickweed, and a few other selected grassy and broadleaf weeds, depending on the applied herbicide. Postemergence herbicides are applied following weed emergence when they are young and actively growing.

Give your lawn a fresh start by scalping your lawn. We're in the business of creating Lush Lawns that are Barefoot Good, all year round. Contact us today for a FREE lawn consultation! Lawn scalping or grass scalping is when you cut your grass significantly low so that the stems of your grass are exposed.

Scalping your lawn gets rid of any build-up from the winter and exposes your soil to sunlight. Ultimately, scalping your lawn stimulates your grass to grow.

Lawn scalping creates a good bit of debris, so it will be necessary to haul off all the old, dead plant material that is removed during the lawn scalping process. Landfills are not appropriate sites for disposing of yard waste. Should grass clippings be left on lawn? Many of you said, yes, you leave your grass clippings on your lawn most or all of the time. By leaving your grass clippings on your lawn, you are returning much needed moisture and nutrients to the soil in your yard.

And contrary to popular belief, grass clippings do not contribute to excess thatch build-up. How much does it cost to scalp my lawn? We have over customers who use our scalp mowing service because they value the benefits that their lawns receive from it.

How do you scalp your lawn? Lawn scalping refers to cutting your lawn grass quite low, so low that you expose the stems of your grass blades. Typically, scalping is done intentionally by setting the mower to its lowest height, but you can also accidentally scalp areas of the lawn. Why is Bermuda grass brown after mowing?

Why does my grass develop yellow or brown patches after I mow? You have probably removed too much of the grass leaf during your mowing, which resulted in cutting the grass blade back to the leaf stem. Should you cut grass after it rains? Wet grass, especially if it is tall, can be a strain on some mowers, possibly causing them to overheat.

Before mowing a lawn after a rain, inspect the grass closely to see if any blades are bent over. Once they are upright it's probably safe to mow.

Wet grass tends to cut less cleanly, resulting in larger clippings.