# Newbie - Zoysia scalping and topdressing Q



## PTCnole (Jun 6, 2020)

Live in Atlanta GA. Zoysia lawn is nice and green but thick and uneven. I typically mow it every week with rotary mower during the growing season. Thinking I want to renovate it and get it lower and smother. I've been reading here about scalping and topdressing but fear it's too late. Advice?


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

You can do a mid-season scalp and top dress. You'd still have plenty of season left.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

Now is a good time for a level job. It's just beginning to hit it's stride.

You'll need a reel for a 'scalp'


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## PTCnole (Jun 6, 2020)

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Ive has my eye on a swardman reel mower for a while now. Guess I need to pull the trigger.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

You can scalp with a string trimmer as well but it's a little more work. You'll have to pick up the clipping with the rotary bagger.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

I too live in Atlanta and have zoysia. I "scalped" mine June 5th with a rotary mower to get ready for reel mowing. It was roughly 3" and now currently 1" (that's as low as I can go with my current mower).

I had/have the same concern as you to whether or not it's too late in the season but decided to go for it. Wish me luck!


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Lawn Smith said:


> I too live in Atlanta and have zoysia. I "scalped" mine June 5th with a rotary mower to get ready for reel mowing. It was roughly 3" and now currently 1" (that's as low as I can go with my current mower).
> 
> I had/have the same concern as you to whether or not it's too late in the season but decided to go for it. Wish me luck!


Gotta any pictures @Lawn Smith ??? I also live in Atlanta area and contemplating scalping mine this weekend.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Yes. The one picture with green was taken the day before. I should have taken more to show the thick yellow undergrowth stalks (not sure the technical name for that) but trust me it was there


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

And just an FYI: It was way more work than I anticipated. I did 9 cuts total over the corse of 3 days and probably emptied the bag 30 times. I know every lawn is different but be prepared if you've never done it before


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

@Lawn Smith keep us posted on the progress of it growing back. I'll post some scalped pictures when complete this weekend. I have a reel so I will be taking it down a little lower.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Will do. Looks like we're about to get a few days of sun following the rain today so hopefully it'll start to green up


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Any particular fertilizers/nutrients that you put down after the scalping?


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

King Green put out a liquid slow release fertilizer along with another round of pre emergent on May 21. Not sure exactly what they put down but I can try and find out.

Do you or anybody know if scalping after the fertilizer will effect anything? I assumed not but I'm still new to the art of fine lawn care


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

I was told if it was granular it definitely will make a difference because it will be sucked up by the mower. Liquid not as much as long as it was pretty well watered in to the soil prior to the scalp.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Here's my lawn after 4 days with little to no sun. It got plenty of rain though and several sunny days ahead in the forecast. It's hard to tell but there's a green tint so I'm really excited for the next few days with optimum weather


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

No doubt this sun in the forecast is really going to help it. I'm scalping and leveling this weekend. What did you use for your top dressing @Lawn Smith ?


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

I haven't used anything yet. I'm going to wait for it to green up before I top dress


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Scalping zoysia today because sod really needed leveling. Using a McLane on the lowest setting. Below are the before and after pictures. Anyone have an opinion on what's been going on below the green? Dark areas were very moist. Haven't had rain in two days so it should have been dry. Sod came from the farm pretty long with what seemed like a thick layer of thatch. Seems to be drying out now that the sun is hitting it. Would anyone be concerned?


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

I don't think you're supposed to scalp new sod. I think the roots need more time to grow into the ground


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

I'm a gambler.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Grass was just dying because of how much thatch it came with from the sod farm. Couldn't ever dry out and seemed to be just rotting. The oath it was on wasn't good so I felt scalping it was my best option to get it to dry out and get some sun down on it. It will get a light sand leveling and some ferts. Fingers crossed.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Light leveling done. One cubic yard used on 1500 ft2. Any takers on dead or alive in two weeks?


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

How much nitrogen per 1000ft2 can zoysia take At one time after being sand leveled to get it going?


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

Oof. Interested to see how this turns out.

I am in Atlanta, Ga as well. With new Zeon zoysia installed mid April. Wishing I would have bought all my sod from Super Sod. Their quality is on another level compared to others... really quite frustrated with myself.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Mine is Geo and was also not doing well. Like I said previously it was just way too long from the farm. Then I had to give it time to root before the first cut and it was crazy long. I'll keep you posted on the progress. I imagine it will be really slow given zoysias recovery history.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

@hpritch what is your HOC? Is there a thick layer of brown/black dead material below the green that won't dry out? Mine had this black dead crap under the green all over. Picture below;


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

2" HOC. I would scalp the whole yard if I went lower because it is so bumpy. Yes. It was that way at first and no it just looks brown and dead in those places. It's still super high too. Just very poorly maintained at the farm.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Mine was pretty bumpy as well and poorly maintained at the farm. A lot of which I think was because of how much rain we got and they couldn't maintain the ideal HOC prior to cutting the sod and delivering to me. You'd be surprised how much more black was under the green after the scalp. Just look at the before and after pics below.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

It was pretty sad looking. That was after the first few passes at 7/8". I took it on down less than a 1/2" and it got rid of most of the black spots and actually dried out the day I was leveling. Looked so much better.


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

I don't think I am risky enough to go that low yet. The sod is only about 8 weeks old.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

@hpritch if mine works out then you should be just fine. Currently my sod is 7 weeks old.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

All is not lost. We got some green popping up. Will this scalped 7 week old sod survive??????


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

Awesome. Let's see it in another week!


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

Just keep mowing it low as it comes in, even when it feels like you are not cutting anything off.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

@Redtwin any advice on what all that black was that I scalped off?


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

My guess would be dead, decaying thatch. I think it was a very good idea to get as much of that out and exposed as possible to allow for new growth and prevent disease.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Here's mine after 10 days if anybody is curious:

Day 10


Day of Scalp


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

@Lawn Smith what heigh was that when you scalped it and did you level it same day?

@Redtwin would you recommend I scalp mine? I have a ton of bumpy areas and the dead thatchy layer like @Twodollarblue mentioned. Sod is about 8 weeks old. Pictures a few posts back.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

hpritch said:


> @Lawn Smith what heigh was that when you scalped it and did you level it same day?
> 
> @Redtwin would you recommend I scalp mine? I have a ton of bumpy areas and the dead thatchy layer like @Twodollarblue mentioned. Sod is about 8 weeks old. Pictures a few posts back.


I personally would but I'm still learning about zoysia so it may be best to wait and see if @Greendoc can confirm. I think 2" is too tall but not sure about scalping newly laid sod. Has it rooted well? If it has, I'd take it down but best to wait for the "oracle" to speak.


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

Yes it has rooted pretty strongly everywhere. Would you recommend 1" for scalping? I do have a John Deere 220 in addition to a rotary I can scalp at whatever height needed.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

hpritch said:


> @Lawn Smith what heigh was that when you scalped it and did you level it same day?
> 
> I scalped it down to 1" and did not level it. I decided to wait until next year when I can truly scalp it with a reel mower


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

hpritch said:


> Yes it has rooted pretty strongly everywhere. Would you recommend 1" for scalping? I do have a John Deere 220 in addition to a rotary I can scalp at whatever height needed.


Where did you get your 220? I'm in the Atlanta area as well and will be itching to upgrade my reel sooner or later.


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

hpritch said:


> Yes it has rooted pretty strongly everywhere. Would you recommend 1" for scalping? I do have a John Deere 220 in addition to a rotary I can scalp at whatever height needed.


As low as you can go until you hit dirt.


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

Twodollarblue said:


> Where did you get your 220? I'm in the Atlanta area as well and will be itching to upgrade my reel sooner or later.


I got it from a random guy in South Carolina through FB Marketplace.


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

Redtwin said:


> hpritch said:
> 
> 
> > Yes it has rooted pretty strongly everywhere. Would you recommend 1" for scalping? I do have a John Deere 220 in addition to a rotary I can scalp at whatever height needed.
> ...


Gosh that sounds scary...


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

hpritch said:


> Redtwin said:
> 
> 
> > hpritch said:
> ...


It'll look like a herd of Tatonka ran through for a couple of weeks but it will come back green, healthy, and lush without all that thatch and dead material making you susceptible to disease.

Empire Zoysia Scalp


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Any recommendations on watering after leveling......Should I increase above the normal 1" per week?


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

When I did my neighbor's Empire Zoysia, he was very nervous about it and watered twice a day for the first week until he started seeing growth again. I'm not entirely sure if that is necessary. We are on almost straight sand soil so I wasn't really concerned about him over-watering. Hopefully someone with better local knowledge near ATL will chime in on water needs after sand leveling.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Day 6: After scalp and sand leveling. Getting some green coming in all over the place. The biggest patch of green needed the least amount of sand because it is kind of a ridge. No doubt zoysia is slow but not too worried.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Day 8:


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Twodollarblue said:


> Day 8:


@Twodollarblue who did you buy your sod from?


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Lawn Smith said:


> Twodollarblue said:
> 
> 
> > Day 8:
> ...


I believe it was purchased at Legacy Turf Farms in Cartersville, GA.


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

I bought mine from Atlanta Sod Farms. So avoid those 2 companies. The Super Sod Zeon zoysia I purchased is just beautiful. So well maintained at the farm. It's practically carpet.

Do you guys think it's too late to cut to 1" (I've been maintaining at 2"+ due to thatch, mower is set to 2"), dethatch and do a light level? I have an irrigation system, so watering won't be an issue. I'm curious if I should level with mason sand or with a 80% sand 20% compost mix. I haven't done a soil test either.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

I just scalped mine to reset all the bad that I had. Took it down to a 1/4" and now maintaining what has grown back so far at 7/16". I did do a light sand/compost level. I used 1 cuyd on 1500 sqft. I went with the leveling blend from soil3. It was great as it was already clean and screened. No rocks or chunks to deal with. Once I get full growth back I plan to do another light leveling this year.


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## jayhawk (Apr 18, 2017)

hpritch said:


> I bought mine from Atlanta Sod Farms. So avoid those 2 companies. The Super Sod Zeon zoysia I purchased is just beautiful. So well maintained at the farm. It's practically carpet.
> 
> Do you guys think it's too late to cut to 1" (I've been maintaining at 2"+ due to thatch, mower is set to 2"), dethatch and do a light level? I have an irrigation system, so watering won't be an issue. I'm curious if I should level with mason sand or with a 80% sand 20% compost mix. I haven't done a soil test either.


NG Turf.....

Now is a great time this odd weather season. I'd use sand for a lite level. But if don't mind the price, yes soil3 is awesome


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Fertilizer question..... so I scalped my Geo Zoysia on June 11th and leveled on June 12th. I applied 0.45lbs of N per 1000sqft after the sand leveling. Any thoughts on if that was too much or to little N?


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

@Lawn Smith how's your Zoysia looking?


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Twodollarblue said:


> @Lawn Smith how's your Zoysia looking?


It's coming in nice I think. Definitely like it better short


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Lawn Smith said:


> Twodollarblue said:
> 
> 
> > @Lawn Smith how's your Zoysia looking?
> ...


Looking really good. How many days has it been since you scalped?


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Twodollarblue said:


> Lawn Smith said:
> 
> 
> > Twodollarblue said:
> ...


18 days. I'm developing a lot of weeds in a couple spots though. Any idea what this is and how to get rid of it?


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

I'm guessing crabgrass.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

That's my guess too


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Day 13 after scalping and leveling 8 week old geo zoysia. 


Coming back day by day. I can't wait for day 30. Below is day 1.


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

That's looking great! I dethatched mine today... 4 yard bags just for ~1000sq ft. I cut to 2". I'll probably cut to 1" and dethatch again and then level it this weekend. Have you been watering nearly everyday to bring it back? What did you put down for you NPK?


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Since I'm in the ATL like you I haven't really had to water much with all this rain. If not for the rain I was going to stick to a few deep waterings keeping it around 1-1.5" of water every week. As far as NPK I used liquids; first was a 25-0-0 that I applied at a rate equivalent to 0.45 lbs per 1000sqft. Then applied a 0-0-29 at the recommended dose on the jug. I did not apply a P because my soil test said I was pretty stacked there. Also did a round of humic acid. Planning to do the 0-0-29 every 14 days and will also do another round of Humic at the same time. No more nitrogen until probably mid July and I most likely will apply at 0.25 per 1000. Pretty happy so far. I've cut 3 times with the mower set at 7/16". Doesn't clip much since it's not thick and full yet but just wanted to train it.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

@hpritch I wouldn't worry too much about taking it down as low as you can with your mower. The more you take it down the easier it will be to get the sand in.


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## ZachUA (Dec 28, 2018)

Twodollarblue said:


> Day 8:


Did you use mason sand?


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Twodollarblue said:


> Since I'm in the ATL like you I haven't really had to water much with all this rain. If not for the rain I was going to stick to a few deep waterings keeping it around 1-1.5" of water every week. As far as NPK I used liquids; first was a 25-0-0 that I applied at a rate equivalent to 0.45 lbs per 1000sqft. Then applied a 0-0-29 at the recommended dose on the jug. I did not apply a P because my soil test said I was pretty stacked there. Also did a round of humic acid. Planning to do the 0-0-29 every 14 days and will also do another round of Humic at the same time. No more nitrogen until probably mid July and I most likely will apply at 0.25 per 1000. Pretty happy so far. I've cut 3 times with the mower set at 7/16". Doesn't clip much since it's not thick and full yet but just wanted to train it.


Who did you send your soil test to @Twodollarblue ? And your yard is looking good


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

ZachUA said:


> Twodollarblue said:
> 
> 
> > Day 8:
> ...


I used soil3 which is a blend of golf course sand and compost 70/30.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

@Lawn Smith I had my soil tested by SoilSavvy.


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## ZachUA (Dec 28, 2018)

Twodollarblue said:


> Day 13 after scalping and leveling 8 week old geo zoysia.
> 
> 
> Coming back day by day. I can't wait for day 30. Below is day 1.


What was the thickest you laid sand over the zoysia?


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

I scalped with the mower set at 1/4". Inevitably some of my lower spots ended up being longer than that. When spreading the sand I made sure to work it all down in to the canopy whether that was a 1/4" of sand or 3/4". Never technically buried it. Tried to leave a little bit exposed everywhere to aid in its growth/recovery.


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

I top dressed today. Mainly on the sod seams.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

@hpritch well done. I think you will be happy you did in a few weeks.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Day 18 of scalping new sod that was established for 8 weeks. Really happy with the progress. Applied a 0-0-29 and humic acid on Sunday which seems to have helped something along. The bare patches were to be expected due to a dog not reading the instructions on applying nitrogen. I expect the grass to creep and fill in. If not then I will plug.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Twodollarblue said:


> Day 18 of scalping new sod that was established for 8 weeks. Really happy with the progress. Applied a 0-0-29 and humic acid on Sunday which seems to have helped something along. The bare patches were to be expected due to a dog not reading the instructions on applying nitrogen. I expect the grass to creep and fill in. If not then I will plug.


Looks really good! Glad the scalping worked for you.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

26-Days.....and counting.


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## Rivah (Jun 5, 2018)

Installed Zenith sod in the summer of 2018. Did my first topdressing yesterday and today. Scalped down to 7/16. I keep the yard at 3/4". Added about 3/4 yard of Mason sand per thousand. Mother nature rained me out yesterday but finished up this morning.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

@Twodollarblue this is 3 days after I spayed Celsius. The crabgrass looks a little yellow but I'm skeptical if it'll kill it. I mixed 2.4g with a gallon (which is considered medium) and sprayed it in the early morning. Maybe that was bad because there was still due on the grass?


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Lawn Smith said:


> @Twodollarblue this is 3 days after I spayed Celsius. The crabgrass looks a little yellow but I'm skeptical if it'll kill it. I mixed 2.4g with a gallon (which is considered medium) and sprayed it in the early morning. Maybe that was bad because there was still due on the grass?


Looks like it's doing something. Fingers crossed. How's it working on that spurge? Did you spray the entire lawn or just spot spray?


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Twodollarblue said:


> Lawn Smith said:
> 
> 
> > @Twodollarblue this is 3 days after I spayed Celsius. The crabgrass looks a little yellow but I'm skeptical if it'll kill it. I mixed 2.4g with a gallon (which is considered medium) and sprayed it in the early morning. Maybe that was bad because there was still due on the grass?
> ...


It's doing about the same on the spurge and clover. It got really bad along my neighbors yard but you can kinda see the strip I sprayed is yellow vs what's right next to it. And I just spot sprayed for now. I wanted to test it before I covered everything.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

@Lawn Smith hows your application of Celsius doing? I tried to buy some at SiteOne this past week and their computers were down. Sad.


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Twodollarblue said:


> @Lawn Smith hows your application of Celsius doing? I tried to buy some at SiteOne this past week and their computers were down. Sad.


I believe she's working! The first picture shows two lumps of crabgrass; one was sprayed a week ago and the other was sprayed yesterday morning. The second picture is the large patch in my front that was also sprayed yesterday.


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

Looks like it is working very well @Lawn Smith . Hopefully I can get my hands on some. Doesn't look it stressed your turf at all either and it has been hot lately.


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## Tmank87 (Feb 13, 2019)

Lawn Smith said:


> Twodollarblue said:
> 
> 
> > @Lawn Smith hows your application of Celsius doing? I tried to buy some at SiteOne this past week and their computers were down. Sad.
> ...


What rate did you use?


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## Lawn Smith (Jun 8, 2020)

Tmank87 said:


> Lawn Smith said:
> 
> 
> > Twodollarblue said:
> ...


I used 2.4g per gallon which is considered medium.


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

@Twodollarblue how is the backyard looking after that megascalp?


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## Twodollarblue (May 26, 2020)

hpritch said:


> @Twodollarblue how is the backyard looking after that megascalp?


Not too bad. Still battling a few issues such as dog pee, buried rocks, and drainage.


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## jpbutler (Aug 19, 2020)

Following. I just put down zorro zoysia 2 weeks ago in Huntsville AL. Planning on leveling next spring.


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## hpritch (May 18, 2020)

@Twodollarblue thats looks great!

I finally got my reel sharpened and ready for use... at the end of the season. First cut today and it made it look so much better. Pic won't upload.


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