# Cutting low with Reel Mower daily, not greening up.



## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

So I am having the same concern I did last year. I'm cutting my front yard at 3/4 inch daily. And my mower seems to leave all the blades with brown tips. My lawn looks like it's getting scalped everyday. Anywhere I am NOT using the reel mower, I am getting a lot of green, even post-rotary mower cut.

Of course, I paper-checked the reel and it cuts fine across the board. And the part of the lawn I am cutting is quite level, no dips and any cause for scalping. Now it's only been 2 weeks since cutting it daily. Will this thing eventually green up or am I fighting a losing battle? I really don't want to go to 1 inch, it glides very nicely now without any hiccups at 3/4 inch.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

@thesouthernreelmower


----------



## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

What HOC did you scalp at? Mowing daily at 3/4" shouldn't be necessary especially at this time of the year.


----------



## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

J_nick said:


> What HOC did you scalp at? Mowing daily at 3/4" shouldn't be necessary especially at this time of the year.


I scalped at 1 1/4 inch, that's as low as my rotary goes. But I took it down gradually, respecting the 1/3 rule.

My lawn didn't go dormant which is why I've constantly been cutting. It's been growing all winter and green. Well, till now in this section that I'm mowing.


----------



## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

You need to take it down below what you plan to maintain at. I personally do ~1/8" and it works good for me.


----------



## Jacob_S (May 22, 2018)

If you want to maintain 3/4 take it down to 1/2 then let it bounce back. Put that swardman to work lol

I usually scalp and do resets at 1/4" jumps but I'm sure that much isnt needed


----------



## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

Jacob_S said:


> If you want to maintain 3/4 take it down to 1/2 then let it bounce back. Put that swardman to work lol
> 
> I usually scalp and do resets at 1/4" jumps but I'm sure that much isnt needed


Like Jacob_S is suggesting, take it down to 1/2 if you want to maintain at 3/4. Cutting every day is not needed right now as it's not warm enough for the grass to recover in 1 day.


----------



## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

Ok got it. Thank you, Gentlemen! I will do that right now.


----------



## Jacob_S (May 22, 2018)

Also agree daily shouldn't be needed yet if at all. Last season I maintained 1" and was mowing 3 times a week(sun,wed,fri) I'd imagine I will be same frequency this year at 3/4. That is until I start using t nex


----------



## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

I'm mowing daily because I enjoy it. Not really for the need. But again my lawn is not and did not go dormant. I cut daily and it clips every time.

Anywho. Thanks for the advice. I cut it down to half inch just now. It was painful. Yard is not as level as I thought. Going that low sure brings out the flaws. All good. More leveling this year.


----------



## Jacob_S (May 22, 2018)

Hey not knocking I enjoy mowing too, its relaxing to me.

And that little reset should have you much happier in a few days.


----------



## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

Jacob_S said:


> Hey not knocking I enjoy mowing too, its relaxing to me.
> 
> And that little reset should have you much happier in a few days.


Thanks man! I'm excited now to see it green up.


----------



## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

Austinite said:


> I'm mowing daily because I enjoy it. Not really for the need. But again my lawn is not and did not go dormant. I cut daily and it clips every time.
> 
> Anywho. Thanks for the advice. I cut it down to half inch just now. It was painful. Yard is not as level as I thought. Going that low sure brings out the flaws. All good. More leveling this year.


At times I get like that, what I started doing last summer was alternating front yard and back yard on different days...


----------



## Bunnysarefat (May 4, 2017)

The soil in Austin has only been warm enough for decent bermuda growth (65 f) for about 13 days. I doubt you are seeing rigerous growth like you can expect to see in a few weeks. You should adjust your hoc as others have said but also it's probably not growing well yet. Bermuda can avoid dormancy but effectively stop growing vertically in the right conditions.


----------



## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

Bunnysarefat said:


> The soil in Austin has only been warm enough for decent bermuda growth (65 f) for about 13 days. I doubt you are seeing rigerous growth like you can expect to see in a few weeks. You should adjust your hoc as others have said but also it's probably not growing well yet. Bermuda can avoid dormancy but effectively stop growing vertically in the right conditions.


Latitude 36 is very different with respect to growth. It never went dormant and has been growing all winter, albeit slower than summer days. I'll give you an example, my back yard was cut at 1.5 inches and in 2 days it was over 2 inches. That's this week.. Not just growing, but growing very aggressively. Lat 36 has been quite mind boggling, it does not behave like any other variety. I've been asking questions all winter trying to understand why it was growing in 40 degree weather and lower nights.


----------



## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

I have a quick question in regard to scalping.

I understand you should scalp lower than your HOC.

But does this apply all throughout the growing season or just at the start of season.

For example if your Bermuda was at 2 inches with a Rotary and it's june or July and you get your first REEL mower. Is it ok to scalp it down to .5 inches if you want to cut it at .75 "even though it's been 2 inches for a while".

Can someone clarify?

Thanks


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

ENC_Lawn said:


> I have a quick question in regard to scalping.
> 
> I understand you should scalp lower than your HOC.
> 
> ...


Yes, you can absolutely "reset" your HOC in the middle of the growing season. :thumbup:


----------



## Ware (Jan 28, 2017)

I would just avoid doing it late in the season when it would not have time to recover before going into dormancy - if that makes sense.


----------



## ENC_Lawn (Sep 9, 2018)

Thanks @Ware !!!


----------



## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

ps. @@bauc54 , I should've taken your advice. He recommended the same thing in my journal and it went over my head. Thanks everyone.


----------



## Jacob_S (May 22, 2018)

All good man, I look forward to seeing updated pics after this reset.


----------



## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Ware said:


> ENC_Lawn said:
> 
> 
> > I have a quick question in regard to scalping.
> ...


I had to scalp my Tifway 419 in August of last year and it recovered quickly. It was not a severe scalp (2" down to just under 1" with a rotary). I was VERY nervous about doing it that late in the season. I would say if your Bermuda is healthy, I would go as late as maybe second week of September depending on your location. Others with more experience can correct me but I think usually the mid-season scalps are not as severe as the first scalp of the season. It's usually just necessary to reset after missing a couple of mows. If I miss a mow, I have to bump my mower up to not scalp. Eventually, when it hits about 2", I have to knock it back down and start over.

I have the GM1000 this year and plan on using PGR so I'm hoping to keep it under an inch this year.


----------



## TheTurfTamer (Aug 8, 2018)

With PGR , you can maintain HOC of .5 without having to reset. Just mow more often. :thumbup:


----------



## J_nick (Jan 28, 2017)

Aawickham78 said:


> With PGR , you can maintain HOC of .5 without having to reset. Just mow more often. :thumbup:


Yep, everyone thinks they save time mowing when spraying PGR. In reality they keep the same mowing schedule but lower the HOC


----------



## dtillman5 (Jul 20, 2017)

J_nick said:


> Aawickham78 said:
> 
> 
> > With PGR , you can maintain HOC of .5 without having to reset. Just mow more often. :thumbup:
> ...


I found this out the hard way last year, PGR let me mow less often, but by mowing less often mid/late season it got so thick and puffy. I had to do a mini scalp, kept up the PGR and mowed more often, that fixed everything. I like mowing often so it wasn't an issue for me. My wife on the otherhand may have a different opinion :lol:


----------



## Austinite (Oct 4, 2018)

We have green up! Thanks again for the advice all. Seems that did the trick.


----------

