What is scarifying the lawn?

When should you not scarify your lawn?

Lawns should typically be scarified once a year, with the best times either in spring or in autumn. You should seek to scarify at times when your grass is growing strongly, as scarifying in periods like winter or the height of summer can cause issues due to either excess cold or dry heat.

How do I manually scarify my lawn?

Should I rake or scarify my lawn?

Raking your lawn can help remove surface debris while dethatching and scarifying will tackle the thick mats of thatch that will eventually suffocate your lawn and prevent it from absorbing nutrients.

When should I scarify or rake my lawn?

Scarifying or de-thatching should be done in the autumn and removes thatch from your lawn. Raking can be done in both spring and autumn and removes moss from your lawn. It also controls the build-up of thatch by removing dead grass roots, shoots and runners.

Should I rake before scarifying?

Definitely not. Lawn raking, whether using a spring-tine rake or a raking machine, is the removal of moss on the lawn. Scarification using heavy duty flails (like knives) removes the cause of the moss, surface thatch. Moss is removed during this intrusive machine work, but its purpose is thatch removal.

Is scarifying the same as dethatching?

Dethatching is mostly used to remove thatch from your lawn while scarifying includes thatch removal as well as removing deeper debris. For quick lawn care, dethatch your lawn. For intense and longer-lasting lawn care, scarify your lawn.

What does a lawn look like after scarifying?

The lawn looks dead, dry, and pretty barren. For people who take pride in their lawns, this is exactly the kind of look you want to avoid. However, this lawn is actually on its way to becoming greener and healthier than it was before!

How often should you scarify a lawn?

You should scarify your established lawn once a year, but some lawn owners prefer to do the job once every two or three years. However, as with all things in lawn care, little and often works best.

What comes first aerating or scarifying?

When considering both aerating and scarifying, it’s better to scarify first, then aerate– but leave a few days in between the two exercises to allow your lawn to recover before you put it through all that work again.

Should I seed straight after scarifying?

However, if you’ve done a thorough de-mossing or de-thatching then it’s risky to expect a full and uniform recovery so get some grass seed into the whole lawn. If you’re going to be using iron sulphate or an iron fertiliser AND over seeding put the seed in at least a couple of days afterwards.

Should I overseed after scarifying?

After you’ve got rid of the moss from the lawn with your rake or scarifier it is important to sow seed all over to speed recovery and thicken the grass.

Does scarifying remove weeds?

Smaller weeds such as veronicas and white clover can be removed with a manual scarifier. Use it frequently so that the plants are disturbed often, preventing their growth until they wither. It is best to use a larger scarifier several times on larger areas.

Will grass grow back after scarifying?

When growth and weather conditions allow, your lawn should be scarified to remove thatch and the matted and horizontal growth that has accumulated over time. This activity should engage the soil; grass is resilient and will soon grow back with a flourish.

Can scarifying ruin your lawn?

If you scarify at the wrong time of year when your grass isn’t growing as fast, you risk damaging your lawn severely. Dusting off the scarifier too early can ruin your lawn, so be patient and don’t jump the gun – that lawn isn’t going anywhere.

Should I cut grass short before scarifying?

For the best results, mow the lawn before scarifying. You should also feed your lawn before scarifying.

Is scarifying the same as aerating?

Scarification is a more intensive type of aeration. A lawn scarifier (image 2) is used to score the turf by means of tiny steel blades. This process also removes weeds, moss and thatch. However, it does not damage the roots of the grass.