---
title: Scalping your lawn
description: Considering scalping your lawn? Learn the pros and cons of this practice, when to do it for the best results, and how to avoid causing damage to your turfgrass.
---

[The Dirt ](https://emeraldlawns.com/blog)

# [Scalping your lawn](https://emeraldlawns.com/blog/scalping-your-lawn)

 Written by [Emerald Lawns](https://emeraldlawns.com/blog/author/emerald-lawns) | Mar 12, 2013

Scalping Your Lawn—Should You Do It?

There are usually pros and cons to every decision you make in life—even scalping your lawn. Scalping is defined as the removal of an excessive quantity of leaf tissue at any one mowing, resulting in a stubbly brown appearance due to exposed stems, stolons, crowns, dead leaves and even bare soil. While scalping is not normally recommended for the warm season turfgrasses during the active growing season or prior to winter dormancy, it can be a beneficial cultural practice in late winter to early spring. Benefits from early season scalping prior to green-up include earlier spring green-up, control of some winter annual broadleaf weeds, and removal of some debris that could contribute to thatch accumulation. Scalping during the growing season will cause undue stress or potential injury to the turfgrass plants.

A more appropriate time to scalp warm season grass lawns is just prior to spring  
green-up. Drop your mower cutting height down to ½ – 1 inch and begin mowing. It is an  
excellent practice to remove old, dead plant material and to expose the soil to sunlight to  
warm the soil for quicker lawn green-up. Scalping too early may injure the turfgrass by  
exposing plant parts such as stolons and crowns to frost or extremely low temperatures.  
If delayed until the grass is actively growing, scalping will result in turf stress and shock  
the grass plant to the point that it slows growth until it can recover. Take caution to not  
overdo scalping on lawns with heavy thatch—especially on St. Augustine grass. If the  
active stolons (runners) are located in the upper portion of the thatch, scalping may  
cause a tremendous amount of damage to these vital plant parts and result in turf injury  
and even death.

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 scalping process. However, do not bag this  
material and send it to the landfill. Landfills are not appropriate sites for disposing of yard  
waste. Instead, use the debris in your own compost pile or send it to a city or  
commercially owned compost site.

Scalping is a great cultural practice to help produce a strong, healthier stand of turfgrass  
when done correctly. However, use caution when scalping your lawn so as not to cause  
any injury or stress to the lawn.

Stay up to date with [Austin lawn care](https://emeraldlawns.com) at **Emerald Lawns** and current specials and like us on Facebook at [www.facebook.com/emeraldlawnsaustin](http://www.facebook.com/emeraldlawnsaustin)**

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