# TruCut Reel for St Aug



## BakerGreenLawnMaker (Mar 13, 2018)

I know a lot of guys on here have one, or have used a TruCut Reel on their Bermuda, Zoysia, and centipede lawns. I have two questions regarding specifically the 27" TruCut Reel mower; First, what's the highest that it can possibly cut, second, I usually mow my St Aug from 2 1/2" to 3 1/2" with a rotary, will my St Augustine survive long term from a reel cut?


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## smurg (May 30, 2018)

From a quick google, it looks like the C27 can reach 2-1/4" which is close to your current cut. However, I don't have any experience with St. Aug so I couldn't tell you if that height would be sufficient.


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## Ecks from Tex (Apr 26, 2018)

Supposedly the Tru-Cut was made for St. Aug. originally.

I don't buy into all that crap about the cutting heights for St. Aug. I'm currently cutting mine at 1.75 and I swear my neighbor has been cutting his at 1 inch all summer long and it is green as hell. You just have to train it like any other grass and it will find a way to grow.

My HOC over the year is usually as follows:

Feb. - Apr.: 2 in 
Apr. - June: 2.75-3.25 (taller HOC gradually)
July - Sept.: 3.25
Oct. - Nov.: 1.75 - 2.5 (reducing HOC gradually)

I used to cut at 4.25 like everyone says but I can produce a solid patch of turf that you cannot get to the bottom when cutting at 3.25 and 2.75.


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## BakerGreenLawnMaker (Mar 13, 2018)

@Ecks from Tex I agree two years ago my HOC was 3 1/2" to 4" and this year beginning in February I completely scalped my SA lawn, which everyone says is a no no, and I kept my HOC right at 2 1/4" and my SA looks dang good right now,


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

Mowing low with a reel is less stressful and damaging to grass vs trying to mow low with a rotary or scalping with string trimmers. Sod farms in Hawaii maintain their St Augustine fields at less than an inch with reels. No problems I can see doing that. On the other hand, I have seen many St Augustine lawns near death because of being maintained with string trimmers scalped to the ground every week.


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## summithorn (Jul 23, 2018)

Any pictures?
I am interested in a reel for a few of my centipede and zoysia lawns but also in a few St. Augustine lawns. How many times per week is everyone cutting St. Aug at these heights? Spoon Feeding? Full sun? Are there any books available on blade management for a reel? I'm not sure if there are any local shops that can sharpen reels. Golf courses?

Green, do you have any videos with you making fertilizer applications?


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## Paul M (Sep 2, 2018)

I mow my St Augustine with a Tru Cut H20, 7 blade at a height of 1" without any problems. You have to irrigate properly and have a good lawn care routine. The summer temperatures where I live routinely exceed 100 degrees. My neighbor mows his Tif with a Toro Greensmaster so I go the extra mile on mine!


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

Paul M said:


> I mow my St Augustine with a Tru Cut H20, 7 blade at a height of 1" without any problems. You have to irrigate properly and have a good lawn care routine. The summer temperatures where I live routinely exceed 100 degrees. My neighbor mows his Tif with a Toro Greensmaster so I go the extra mile on mine!


Pics please...


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## Paul M (Sep 2, 2018)

I'll post some tomorrow, too dark outside right now.


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## Paul M (Sep 2, 2018)

Spammage said:


> Paul M said:
> 
> 
> > I mow my St Augustine with a Tru Cut H20, 7 blade at a height of 1" without any problems. You have to irrigate properly and have a good lawn care routine. The summer temperatures where I live routinely exceed 100 degrees. My neighbor mows his Tif with a Toro Greensmaster so I go the extra mile on mine!
> ...


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## zeus201 (Aug 30, 2017)

^ Dang that looks great!


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## Greyleafspot (Oct 16, 2018)

Awesome. I want one.


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## lucas287 (Jun 3, 2018)

Wow! Love it. I've contemplated st aug in my backyard due to several large live oaks and struggling tifway. But I hated the thought of having 3-4" grass.


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## BakerGreenLawnMaker (Mar 13, 2018)

Here's a recent pic of mowing St Aug with a TruCut 27" with 7 blade reel. HOC 2".


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## Greendoc (Mar 24, 2018)

I am of the mind that the best mower for St Augustine is a Tru-Cut. It is as if the manufacturer specifically engineered it to mow that grass.


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## Greyleafspot (Oct 16, 2018)

How much do they cost


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## summithorn (Jul 23, 2018)

That does look good. It does look like a few stolons laying on top, but the mat looks thick and in contact with the soil. Greendoc, what is the best way to take a lawn down from 3-5 inches to 2 inches? Over a few weeks at the beginning of the growing season? All due respect, California and Hawaii have near perfect weather year round..correct? Is it possible to maintain St. Aug this low in a location that receives 60-80 inches of rain per year? I would probably have to cut every other day with regulators and absolutely no granular slow release products. Where I live, its possible to have chinch, webworms, brown patch, and grey leaf spot all at the same time. How does this lower St. Aug respond to pest?


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## Paul M (Sep 2, 2018)

Greyleafspot said:


> How much do they cost


New, I believe around $1400.00 for an H20. I bought mine used.


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## Paul M (Sep 2, 2018)

summithorn said:


> That does look good. It does look like a few stolons laying on top, but the mat looks thick and in contact with the soil. Greendoc, what is the best way to take a lawn down from 3-5 inches to 2 inches? Over a few weeks at the beginning of the growing season? All due respect, California and Hawaii have near perfect weather year round..correct? Is it possible to maintain St. Aug this low in a location that receives 60-80 inches of rain per year? I would probably have to cut every other day with regulators and absolutely no granular slow release products. Where I live, its possible to have chinch, webworms, brown patch, and grey leaf spot all at the same time. How does this lower St. Aug respond to pest?


I do have an advantage with our weather, I don't have problems with brown spot, fungus or pests as I do use a granular pest control twice a year and put a fungicide on it about twice a year. The mat because of its thickness doesn't hold a lot of moisture and I only water three times a week in the summer when it's hot and twice a week the rest of the year. As far as the stolen go, I get them where my lawn slopes down to the curb, I am installing a front roller to prevent scalping. I hope it works.


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## summithorn (Jul 23, 2018)

Any advice on maintaining blades for a reel? Or the reel for a reel. Any book info out there? I have a local supplier that sells Trucut but doesn't know anything about blade maintenance.


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## Paul M (Sep 2, 2018)

I have mine back lapped at the beginning of the growing season and have the reel sharpened with a relief grind every couple of years or so. I bought mine used about demented years ago, it's an early 80's vintage and have not had any problems with it. I mow twice a week from mid spring to fall. In the winter my lawn goes dormant and does not require much maintenance.


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## Paul M (Sep 2, 2018)

Paul M said:


> I have mine back lapped at the beginning of the growing season and have the reel sharpened with a relief grind every couple of years or so. I bought mine used about demented years ago, it's an early 80's vintage and have not had any problems with it. I mow twice a week from mid spring to fall. In the winter my lawn goes dormant and does not require much maintenance.


Seven years, although they may have been demented!


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## summithorn (Jul 23, 2018)

Which is better the 7 or 10 blade. Casters or rollers? more scalping issues with a larger mower?


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## Paul M (Sep 2, 2018)

summithorn said:


> Which is better the 7 or 10 blade. Casters or rollers? more scalping issues with a larger mower?


For St Augustine, a seven blade is fine, its a coarser grass. Rollers help prevent scalping when you are mowing low on lawns that are not flat or have some imperfection. The roller on a Tru Cut sits closer to the reel than the casters, helping it follow the contour of your lawn and it helps bridge the mower on uneven terrain, plus they will give you stripes like the lawn pictured after mine. The larger mowers don't scalp any more than the smaller ones, the smaller ones are just easier to maneuver around obstacles in tight places.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

Paul M said:


> Spammage said:
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> 
> > Paul M said:
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Very nice! Have you tried going over the lawn with a rotary to try to get the stolons that have found their way to the top of the grass? Also, how often are you having to cut it at that height?


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## Paul M (Sep 2, 2018)

Spammage said:


> Paul M said:
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> > Spammage said:
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No, but I have thought of it. I did get a lot of stolens when I tried to go lower, but since I went back up to 1" they are slowly disappearing. I cut twice a week so I am not cutting too much off the grass blades at once. My lawn is not flat so I am putting a roller on the front of my mower to help prevent getting stolens from scalping. I had a St Augustine lawn at another house that was dead flat and was mowed less than an inch and looked very good. With our weather, we can get away with it.


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## Greyleafspot (Oct 16, 2018)

BakerGreenLawnMaker said:


> Here's a recent pic of mowing St Aug with a TruCut 27" with 7 blade reel. HOC 2".


@Bakergreenlawnmaker I nominated you for lawn of the month do you have a member journal.


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## BakerGreenLawnMaker (Mar 13, 2018)

Greyleafspot said:


> BakerGreenLawnMaker said:
> 
> 
> > Here's a recent pic of mowing St Aug with a TruCut 27" with 7 blade reel. HOC 2".
> ...


I don't man. Thanks though!


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## Paul M (Sep 2, 2018)

BakerGreenLawnMaker said:


> Here's a recent pic of mowing St Aug with a TruCut 27" with 7 blade reel. HOC 2".


Those are some nice stripes, I don't think I could mow that straight!


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## BakerGreenLawnMaker (Mar 13, 2018)

Paul M said:


> BakerGreenLawnMaker said:
> 
> 
> > Here's a recent pic of mowing St Aug with a TruCut 27" with 7 blade reel. HOC 2".
> ...


Thanks! It's taken some practice my stripes use to look like little kid coloring inside the lines :lol:


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