To scalp or not to scalp, that is the question. The Bermuda grass is “waking up”, and spring is in the air, so should you scalp your lawn to get it ready for the growing season? No, not if you want a thick, healthy, relatively weed-free lawn. The rule for mowing turfgrass is to remove no more than 1/3 of the aboveground leaf in a single mowing. Scalping can often remove 50% or more, and research has shown that removing more than 40% of turfgrass leaf tissue in one mowing can stop root growth for up to two weeks. Spring is a very important time for turfgrass root growth, and the more roots your lawn develops in the spring, the better it will withstand drought and other stress conditions throughout the summer. Scalping the lawn early in the growing season when weeds are germinating like crazy, provides them the perfect environment to grow and become established without competition from lawn grass. The best way to have a lawn without many weeds - you’ll never have one with no weeds - is to use good cultural practices. A thick, healthy lawn will crowd out most weeds.