# Scalping Height for Bermuda



## rockwalltxguy (Oct 1, 2021)

Hello all, I am a new member here. First post. I have a question about scalping Bermuda. I am in North Texas and I know now is not the time of year to scalp but I just bought a Honda HRX217HYA to replace my old Honda Powered Troy Built and wanted to test out how low I could get it. So I "Scalped" a small 2ft section at the back of my front lawn so as not to be seen from the road. My question is, what is the proper scalp height?

I am going to have some guys come scalp next spring but I am really worried about them going lower than this and taking it down to dirt. Do I have anything to worry about? Is this what a "Scalped" lawn will look like for the 1st few weeks next spring?

These pictures are on the lowest setting which It appears is .75" according to the manual. If I want my HOC to be .75" I would need to go lower but can't do that with this mower.


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## pp6000v2 (Mar 8, 2021)

You will need to do reset cuts through the seasons. Are you prepared to pay someone to come scalp for you every time, just to be able to use the mower at it's lowest setting as your maintenance height? You could scalp to dirt and let it grow back from its rhizomes. But realistically, 0.75" is your scalp-to height, and 1"+ is your maintenance height based on the equipment you have.

I scalped to 1.25" (lowest my mower goes) on Sept 4th,







and I was green again 10 days later







.


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## rockwalltxguy (Oct 1, 2021)

I will also add that like most homeowners I never thought to research how tall my Bermuda Lawn should be. So after getting tired of wondering why I wasn't getting that Fairway look with my grass I did some decent research and realized my grass was being maintained about 1.5" too tall. So as this growing season is coming to an end and maintaining a decent looking lawn at 2.5" I decided next year I am going to go low and try and maintain it below 1.5". Below is my lawn maintained at about 2.5" this summer.


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## rockwalltxguy (Oct 1, 2021)

pp6000v2 said:


> You will need to do reset cuts through the seasons. Are you prepared to pay someone to come scalp for you every time, just to be able to use the mower at it's lowest setting as your maintenance height? You could scalp to dirt and let it grow back from its rhizomes. But realistically, 0.75" is your scalp-to height, and 1"+ is your maintenance height based on the equipment you have.
> 
> I scalped to 1.25" (lowest my mower goes) on Sept 4th,
> 
> ...


My issue now is that I just forked out $800 for this Honda. In hindsight I should have researched a bit more and just spent the extra money for a Mclanes 25" reel. I may do that in a year or so but I know I will need to do some leveling next summer which I intend to. I think the next highest setting is 1 1/4". If I have these guys scalp at .75" will 1 1/4" look decent?


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## pp6000v2 (Mar 8, 2021)

I suppose it depends on your bermuda variety, whether you PGR it or not, what inputs you're giving it... If it doesn't look good at 1.25, then go up to 1.5, or whatever it takes. My mower doesn't cut level at lower heights, like the left front wheel is letting the deck sag in that direction. So lower cut heights make each pass look a little scalped on the left side. I'm actually looking at either a battery toro super recycler, or the honda 217vka for next season. I'd love to reel mow it, but I'm going to rent this house soon, and the next place we buy may not be a reel mower-friendly lawn.

Age might be mayyyyybe a little more than just a number considering r kelly's trial right now, but HOC really is just a number. Heck, there's a guy reel mowing st augustine, or this guy doing 4" bermuda. It's all good.


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## MrMeaner (Feb 21, 2017)

Scalp next spring as low as your mower will allow then raise it up a notch or two....Bermuda looks great mowed at 1'-1.5"


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## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

@rockwalltxguy, as MrMeaner said, you will be absolutely fine scalping with your rotary's lowest setting and just raising it up a notch. What's the HOC at the next notch up?....1.25"? It'll look fine.

With regard to the guy you're looking to hire to scalp your lawn in the Spring, would he use a reel mower? Because you could have them scalp down to ~3/8" and THEN you can maintain for a while at .75" with your rotary. You may or may not need to do a reset later in the season. But at that point, you could just choose to bump up your rotary a notch when you start to yellow your lawn after mowing.


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## rockwalltxguy (Oct 1, 2021)

JayGo said:


> @rockwalltxguy, as MrMeaner said, you will be absolutely fine scalping with your rotary's lowest setting and just raising it up a notch. What's the HOC at the next notch up?....1.25"? It'll look fine.
> 
> With regard to the guy you're looking to hire to scalp your lawn in the Spring, would he use a reel mower? Because you could have them scalp down to ~3/8" and THEN you can maintain for a while at .75" with your rotary. You may or may not need to do a reset later in the season. But at that point, you could just choose to bump up your rotary a notch when you start to yellow your lawn after mowing.


He has several different mowers. One is a scag stand on and one is a toro 30" time master. He said the scag can cut down to less than a 1/2". One problem is my gate won't allow for a ride on or zero turn. I really don't like the idea of messing up my equipment scalping so I will definitely hire a guy for that part. May need to get another wider gate put in which I've wanted to do anyways.


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## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

Any damage to your equipment is going to pretty much be limited to dulling your blades, which you can always sharpen up again. Clean out the air filter, too, 'cause scalping can be messy.

By the way, I think the lowest setting on a TimeMaster is 1.15", so you're down to the Scag as the only option with that guy.


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## Amoo316 (Jul 8, 2021)

I don't know of a Scag that goes sub 1", but I'm not intimately familiar with all of their previous stuff. I'm a little more up to date on what they have out currently as offerings as I bought one this year, but I wasn't aware they had anything sub 1".

Agree with those above, there really is no such thing as "scalping height" as a rule, it's just 1 or 2 notches above how ever low most people can get with their equipment. In regards to tearing up your stuff, you just scalped, so.... It's a mower, and I can understand maybe keeping a set of old blades around, but it's not like you're cutting through anything other than grass...


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## Mathwiz (Jul 20, 2021)

MrMeaner said:


> Scalp next spring as low as your mower will allow then raise it up a notch or two....Bermuda looks great mowed at 1'-1.5"


^This is the ticket. All I can add to this is after the scalp, do an assessment of how bumpy your lawn is and determine if leveling with sand is beneficial. The lower you mow, the more critical it is to have your lawn as level as possible. This is also a great time to aerate. Sweep up the plugs and put the sand down where it will fill in and you will be primed for a good fertilizer. This is what I did this year and my lawn was showcase all Summer. I also mowed with a Honda HRX @1.5". Keep the blades sharp!


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## rockwalltxguy (Oct 1, 2021)

Thanks for all the tips everybody. I'm not new to lawn care but I'm ready to take my lawn to the next level so im sure this forum will become a second home like the big green egg forum is also.


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## FATC1TY (Jul 12, 2017)

rockwalltxguy said:


> Thanks for all the tips everybody. I'm not new to lawn care but I'm ready to take my lawn to the next level so im sure this forum will become a second home like the big green egg forum is also.


As a BGE guy, welcome. Lots of cross over.

Get it as close to the dirt next year. Then let it grow and cut as low and as often as you can. Plenty of options to help, as we can't all cut everyday that it requires for the best.


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## DFWdude (Aug 28, 2020)

I used to live in Rockwall. Great place!

Regarding your comment on a 25" mcclane, your yard looks like you could live with a 20" model. How many sq ft will you be maintaining?


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

The purchase of the Honda was a good one. You could have spent $800 on a decent used greensmower but it would probably have required some more money to get it into shape and significantly more routine maintenance than the Honda. Also keep in mind that if you are looking for that tight fairway look (<.5" HOC), you will most likely be mowing every 2 to 3 days. There are some beautiful bermuda lawns on this forum that are rotary mowed and the Honda is one of the best to get you there. If it were me, I would "washer" the Honda down to 1/2" during the spring scalp and maintain at .75" through the season.

Don't get me wrong! I love mowing super low but it's an addiction you'll want to discuss with your significant other regarding how much time you will be spending working on the lawn.


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## rockwalltxguy (Oct 1, 2021)

DFWdude said:


> I used to live in Rockwall. Great place!
> 
> Regarding your comment on a 25" mcclane, your yard looks like you could live with a 20" model. How many sq ft will you be maintaining?


Oh cool! Where are you currently at in DFW? My yard is around 15,000 sqft


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## rockwalltxguy (Oct 1, 2021)

Redtwin said:


> The purchase of the Honda was a good one. You could have spent $800 on a decent used greensmower but it would probably have required some more money to get it into shape and significantly more routine maintenance than the Honda. Also keep in mind that if you are looking for that tight fairway look (<.5" HOC), you will most likely be mowing every 2 to 3 days. There are some beautiful bermuda lawns on this forum that are rotary mowed and the Honda is one of the best to get you there. If it were me, I would "washer" the Honda down to 1/2" during the spring scalp and maintain at .75" through the season.
> 
> Don't get me wrong! I love mowing super low but it's an addiction you'll want to discuss with your significant other regarding how much time you will be spending working on the lawn.


I currently have been maintaining a HOC of 2.5" and mow once a week. But I know to maintain the lower height I would need to much more frequently. Honestly I can't really commit to more than twice a week. Unless it can be done in under an hour. Currently it takes me 1.5 hours to mow, edge and trim my 15,000sqft of lawn. Would maintaining say 1.25" allow me to get away with twice a week mowings?


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

With PGR I would think you could easily maintain around 1" with mowing twice a week. Hopefully others will chime in from your area who keep it that high. The only area I keep above 1" is around my fire pit and it grows slower because it is fighting some oaks for water, nutrients, and sunlight. I use T-Nex on everything though.


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## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

rockwalltxguy said:


> Would maintaining say 1.25" allow me to get away with twice a week mowings?


I lived in Denton & Frisco for years before relocating to Round Rock, so I know the climate well.

Yes, you can maintain at 1.25" if you mow twice a week. When I rotary mowed, I maintained at 1.125" with two mows a week.


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## Bombers (Jul 14, 2020)

House and neighborhood looks fairly new. Are you sure it's common bermuda? From what I've seen here for suburban Texas, it's almost always a hybrid and 419.

I also agree with PGR. You can probably get away with mowing every 4-6 days at 1-1.5". You will have to up the dosage a bit more from the label since there's more leaf material at 1"+, but that's another topic to dive into once and if you decide to commit to PGR.


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## DFWdude (Aug 28, 2020)

rockwalltxguy said:


> DFWdude said:
> 
> 
> > I used to live in Rockwall. Great place!
> ...


We used to be in the Preserve, north of 66 just up lakeshore. Now in Southlake.

With 15k, definitely get a 25".


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## rockwalltxguy (Oct 1, 2021)

@Bombers Honestly I'm not sure what exact type I have. But I don't think it's 419. Isn't that a more expensive sod? Unless it's for a custom build which mine is not I don't think the builder would fork out the extra $$ to put tiff down. How can I tell what I have? Do my original pictures help anyone identify what I have?


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## Bombers (Jul 14, 2020)

A closer picture and a pulled out piece would help. The TX guys will probably have more knowledge than me, but 419 is pretty common/standard sod for a lot of non-custom builds in the past 15-20 years in TX. It might be another medium-fine hybrid, but it doesn't look coarse enough to be common from the pics above.


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## rockwalltxguy (Oct 1, 2021)

Bombers said:


> A closer picture and a pulled out piece would help. The TX guys will probably have more knowledge than me, but 419 is pretty common/standard sod for a lot of non-custom builds in the past 15-20 years in TX. It might be another medium-fine hybrid, but it doesn't look coarse enough to be common from the pics above.


Awesome thanks for the info. Here is a upclose picture of some


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

rockwalltxguy said:


> DFWdude said:
> 
> 
> > I used to live in Rockwall. Great place!
> ...


Former rockwall resident here as well. In Heath now, 10min from Rockwall. Similar situation, I'll be getting a Trimmer 20" next spring. Best bet is just to maintain it out the rest of the year and next year start things off the way you want it. But I don't think 1" looks bad at all. I'm maintaining Monaco at 1.25". Have the only dark grass in the neighborhood. So scalping to .75 and then HOC at 1" would look nice! And yes, rockwall is a great place!!


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## DFW245 (Jul 23, 2021)

rockwalltxguy said:


> Bombers said:
> 
> 
> > A closer picture and a pulled out piece would help. The TX guys will probably have more knowledge than me, but 419 is pretty common/standard sod for a lot of non-custom builds in the past 15-20 years in TX. It might be another medium-fine hybrid, but it doesn't look coarse enough to be common from the pics above.
> ...


Interested in this particular post as well. I have some Bermuda that was here before I moved in and am curious if it's sod or not. Apparently I've heard DFW uses 419 ALOT on houses from the past 10 years or so


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## rockwalltxguy (Oct 1, 2021)

Nice, yes my home is 2 years old. I am on the border of Heath and Rockwall. The more im looking at pictures of this grass and based on the feedback here im guessing I probably do have 419. This is a pretty affluent area and im guessing that most of the home builders want to compete so im betting they do all use 419.


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## rockwalltxguy (Oct 1, 2021)

Well after extensive nonstop research in the last 24hrs. I bit the bullet and bought a 25" Mclane reel. There were no used ones that I could find within driving distance so new it is I guess. It's only money right? I like to keep my options open so I'll keep the Honda too for now. I have the feeling this hobby is gonna get $$$ like my woodworking and big green egg hobbies.


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## JayGo (Jun 13, 2019)

You'll always need a rotary for the "vacuuming" jobs.

Also, if the plan is to NOT use the McLane until next spring, maybe hold off on taking delivery so that you don't burn 4 or 5 months of your warranty with it sitting stored in the garage. Just thinking out loud here.


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## Bombers (Jul 14, 2020)

rockwalltxguy said:


> Nice, yes my home is 2 years old. I am on the border of Heath and Rockwall. The more im looking at pictures of this grass and based on the feedback here im guessing I probably do have 419. This is a pretty affluent area and im guessing that most of the home builders want to compete so im betting they do all use 419.


99.99% it's 419 if your lot is only 2 years old. You can also google sod farms near you to see what they carry. Most likely your builder contracted one of them for sod. Or if they're still building in your subdivision, you might catch an installer and ask what they're putting down.

I also agree with holding off until feb/March before scalping if you're buying new. People might offload/upgrade in the off season and you might come across a deal you like.

In the meantime, you can check out the Bermuda Bible thread in the first pinned post in this sub to get the basic knowledge and dive into the rabbit hole of the more advanced cultural practices for low reel mowing. You better be nice to the wife because your lawn Christmas wish list is gonna get longer. 😅


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## Redtwin (Feb 9, 2019)

I'd be willing to bet from the photos and other information that you have Tifway-419. It's actually the cheapest sod of any variety around here.


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## Theycallmemrr (May 16, 2019)

rockwalltxguy said:


> Redtwin said:
> 
> 
> > The purchase of the Honda was a good one. You could have spent $800 on a decent used greensmower but it would probably have required some more money to get it into shape and significantly more routine maintenance than the Honda. Also keep in mind that if you are looking for that tight fairway look (<.5" HOC), you will most likely be mowing every 2 to 3 days. There are some beautiful bermuda lawns on this forum that are rotary mowed and the Honda is one of the best to get you there. If it were me, I would "washer" the Honda down to 1/2" during the spring scalp and maintain at .75" through the season.
> ...


You won't need to edge every time you mow if you mowing more than once a week.


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## andymac7 (Oct 30, 2018)

So I'm consistently seeing a scalping height of only .25" lower than maintenance. Is that common? I was planning to take my scalp height down at least a half an inch lower than maintenance next Spring. Of course, I have a triplex reel, so it should be a lot easier to do this. I have bermuda in the front, zoysia in the back, so I think I'm gonna try a .75" maintenance HOC for both. So, of course, that would mean potentially scalping at .25". I'm a bit nervous that after zoysia that low, my blades might be very dulled. We'll see.


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