Zoysia Cavalier

Roger2011 – posted 23 July 2011 09:44

After I mow with my reel mower, my grass looks like it is scorched like the hairs on your arm from a hot grill and looks white on top. Does anyone know what is causing this?

Thanks!

gvs505 – posted 23 July 2011 21:36

Your reel mower is “tearing” the grass and not cutting it cleanly. Your reel is dull and needs sharpening or it needs adjusting to be closer to the bed knife. A reel needs to be sharpened annually or more opten if it is used regularly. The “white” color is torn grass.

mrmumbels – posted 24 July 2011 07:49

Does your grass also get bright light green? You’re hurting it 😛

Roger2011 – posted 24 July 2011 13:04

I have had it in the shop twice this summer for sharpening, but the place I am taking it to must not know what they are doing… Thanks for the info, I will get to someone that hopefully has a clue.

Stan – posted 24 July 2011 22:24

Get yourself one of the new Fiskar Momentum reel mowers. The blades are supposed to never need sharpening. I just got one and it is easy to push as it double your effort using a chain momentum thing. It has great reviews on Amazon.

gvs505 – posted 26 July 2011 20:39

One other thing that can cause the “white” look besides a mower issue is mowing too infrequently. Zoysia is best mowed every 4-6 days and if you let it grow too tall and then mow, you will get the “white” look.

jugheadfla – posted 27 July 2011 06:56

quote:Originally posted by gvs505:One other thing that can cause the “white” look besides a mower issue is mowing too infrequently. Zoysia is best mowed every 4-6 days and if you let it grow too tall and then mow, you will get the “white” look.

That is definatley the case. My neighbor and I both have Jamur Zoysia and while I cut mine every week, he cuts his every 2 weeks. You can not only see the white tips on his but you also notice that his grass is not nearly as dense especially around the bottom of the grass stems. His looks really fluffy on top, but below is extremely thin. My rule of thumb is one you start seeing seed heads you need to mow as soon as possible.