Lawn scarification improves the health of your matted grass by decongesting it. Our guide explains the best time to do it, and just how it works.
15.10.2024
Scarifying simply refers to the process of using a tool to clear matted grass and moss from the surface of your lawn, and lightly opening up the ground to add air and improve growth. Verticutting is similar, though it has less impact on the soil itself. Left alone, debris and dead matter in grass can form a matted layer of thatch that will prevent water from reaching the roots and eventually suffocate the lawn.
To scarify your lawn, you need to use special equipment that cuts vertically through the lawn and thatch, and shallowly scores the surface of the earth. You can achieve a similar effect using just a rake, but it is back-breaking work! We recommend scarifying tools with rotating blades that penetrate a few millimetres into the soil to remove moss, thatch and weeds. The process can make a bit of a mess of the grass at first, but it rejuvenates your lawn for the long term, making it easier for air, water and micronutrients to reach the roots.
April and May are the best months, as your lawn is growing strongly; but you can scarify between March and May, and in September, depending on the weather. You should ideally scarify your lawn twice a year, but not when the ground is cold – it should be at 10°C or more. Equally, if the weather gets too hot, it’s best to postpone scarifying to prevent the lawn from drying out.
Spring is the best time of year to scarify a lawn. As soon as temperatures are consistently above 10°C and the grass is growing vigorously, the lawn should be strong enough to scarify – after it has been mown three or four times since the beginning of the year. Start your lawn care by scarifying, followed by the first fertilisation of the season to prepare your green space for the new gardening season. Aim to scarify your lawn in April or May, because the soil recovers very quickly at that time of year.
When should I scarify my lawn for the first time? It usually takes three years before a freshly laid lawn achieves sufficient growth and hardiness for scarifying – any sooner and there is a risk of damaging the young grass roots. Only if your new lawn has grown particularly thickly might scarification be appropriate as early as in the second year.
Although scarification and aeration of your lawn helps control stubborn weeds and matted moss, it also puts a lot of stress on the soil; this is why any late-summer lawn scarifying should certainly be done with a lighter touch. Your lawn needs a chance to recover well so it can enter its winter dormancy with renewed strength.
How often do I need to scarify my lawn? A strongly growing lawn with no matted thatch does not necessarily need to be scarified; simply raking through to dislodge any dead grass is sufficient. If you do have matting or moss growth in your grass, you should scarify your lawn twice a year at most.
Have moss, weeds or thatch made themselves at home in your lawn? Then it’s time to step up and take serious action. Powerful scarifiers from STIHL are the go-to lawn care tool for healthy green grass. They score the earth while removing dead matter that inhibits grass vitality, delivering increased light and nutrients to the grass in a single work step – a recipe for strong and sustained growth. With a STIHL lawn scarifier, you can rejuvenate your lawn, and lay the groundwork for your own peaceful oasis.
In return for regular care and removal of moss, weeds and thatch, your lawn will reward you with strong, beautiful green growth. Let one of our cordless battery or petrol-driven lawn scarifiers make your task much easier – you will particularly feel the benefit if you have heavy soil or a lot of thatch in your lawn. Manual scarification tools are also available if you are willing to put in some extra work.
Scarifying tools have rotating blades that penetrate through the lawn and a few millimetres into the ground below, aerating the soil as they pass through and facilitating the easy removal of weeds and intruding roots.
You can easily scarify small areas of lawn with a manual scarifier, but if you need to scarify larger areas we recommend you get some extra power behind you: a STIHL cordless battery or petrol-driven scarifier will make easy work of clearing thatch and invigorating your soil.
Electric or petrol-driven scarifier? An electric scarifier from STIHL is ideal if the lawn areas you need to scarify are close to your house, where a power outlet is available. If you need to work a little further afield, a STIHL scarifier with its own powerful battery or petrol engine are also available.
Scarifiers have very sharp blades, and before you actually get going it’s important to make sure they are correctly adjusted. If you scarify with the blades in the wrong position, you can badly damage your lawn.
The right working depth to scarify at depends on the age of the lawn and the extent of matting. As a rule, the blades should not rip the ground open, but rather just lightly skim the soil. Keeping that in mind, adjust the blades so that they penetrate the ground to two to three millimetres, testing the depth on a small section of the lawn and readjusting if necessary. A very neglected lawn may even handle four millimetres, but to avoid permanent damage you should never scarify grass more deeply than that.
When you’ve finished scarifying your lawn may look a little less attractive at first, but before long your efforts will be rewarded with lusher, more beautiful grass. A good lawn care tip is to apply sand or fine compost and fertiliser to your lawn after you scarify it; overseeding is only necessary if there are larger bare patches of lawn.