Dethatching without follow-up fertilization results in increased weed encroachment and ugly turf. April generally is the optimum month to dethatch in central and eastern Oregon.Īfter dethatching, always fertilize with at least 1 lb nitrogen per 1000 sq ft water in the fertilizer thoroughly to speed recovery. Dethatching during these times will allow the grass sufficient time to recover before stress of summer heat or winter cold. The time to dethatch in western Oregon is spring or fall, which usually means mid-March through early May, or mid-September to mid-October, weather permitting. It is better to make several passes and then wait to dethatch again another time. If thatch is more than 1 inch, don’t try to remove it all at once. If you have to re-seed after dethatching, you removed too much live plant material. When you start tearing chunks of turf out of the ground, it is time to quit. Normally, three separate passes in different directions are enough to thoroughly dethatch healthy lawns. After going over the entire lawn, rake up the debris and determine whether the lawn can tolerate another pass. Then, in the lawn, move back and forth over the lawn, maintaining a slow steady pace. Set the blades of the power rake approximately 0.25 inch above a hard surface such as a sidewalk. Attachments to your lawn mower are not as effective as true vertical mowers these attachments may be hazardous to both you and your mower.
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You can rent a power rake, or you can hire a professional lawn service to do the job. Use a machine that has rigid or flexible blades or tines (power rakes) that cut into or pull turf out of the soil surface. Once a thick layer of thatch has formed, it must be removed by vertical mowing. A layer of 0.5 to 0.75 inch is generally acceptable in home lawns, but anything greater can begin to cause problems. Perennial ryegrass is a low thatch producer bluegrass and fescues, because of their lateral growth, form a dense thatch that is difficult to remove. Plants growing in thatch are more susceptible to cold and heat injury because temperature fluctuations are greater in thatch than in soil.ĭifferent grass species accumulate thatch at different rates.
Tolerance to Adverse Environmental Conditions Decreases Most of the living part of the plant is not in soil, so it doesn’t have earth’s insulating capacity. When a mower passes over them, it sinks into the thatch and scalps the lawn, leaving brown stubble showing. Scalping Increases Grass plants growing in thick thatch produced by stoloniferous growth have crowns elevated above the soil. Grass growing in these irregularly shaped areas then dies out. Creeping and colonial bentgrass (stolons)ĭry Spots Form Thick thatch layers can dry out during the summer and become nearly impossible to re-wet therefore, water doesn’t reach the soil.What Grasses Produce Rhizomes and Stolons? Infrequent mowing or high mowing levels (2 inches or above).Fast-growing grass cultivars or species.Lateral shoot growth (stolons and rhizomes).Factors contributing to thatch accumulation include: Thatch becomes a problem when accumulation exceeds decay due to vigorous lateral shoot growth or environmental conditions that slow decomposition. Grass clippings, which are mostly leaves that are composed primarily of water, do not significantly contribute to thatch accumulation. Generally, stem nodes, crowns, and lateral shoots (stolons and rhizomes) are most resistant to decay while leaves are easily decayed. Microorganisms and soil insects slowly decay this material. Thatch is a tangle of dead and living plant parts (stems, crowns, stolons, rhizomes, and roots) that accumulate below the green part of the lawn and above the soil. Cook, Professor emeritus, Horticulture, OSU Putnam, Diagnostic Plant Pathologist, OSU
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