Summer time is on it’s way, and soon we will all be getting ready for that first time we have to mow the lawn for the year. After this, for the rest of the warm months, it is a constant effort to keep the yard looking it’s best. The question will come sooner than you think, “How often should I be mowing my lawn?” This question may be a bit more important than you think. Your lawn can be a finicky thing to get right, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some general rules and techniques to get you on your way to having that gorgeous lawn that you would love to have, and the fist step is understanding just how often your lawn needs to be cut.
The first thing to understand is that, how often your lawn is mowed isn’t necessarily just about the length of time. It is probably more important to pay attention to the length of your grass. All lawns will grow at a different rate depending on the type of grass, condition of the soil, the available sunlight, and general height that the grass is kept at.
Generally a lawn should not be cut more than 1/3 of it’s existing height. So if you want to have a lawn that is 3 inches tall, it is best to wait until your grass is around 4 1/2 inches high. Then cutting that 1 inch and a half of grass will put it right where you want it to be. Likewise if you want a lawn that is only 2 inches high, it is best to wait until you lawn is 3 inches tall, and only cut the top inch. This is called the rule of 1/3.
A common mistake that most homeowners make is cutting the grass too short. Ground that is uncovered and can see the sun will always produce a lower quality soil. When your grass is too short, the sun has access to the ground and will dry it out much faster making a poorer quality soil for the grass that you are trying to grow.
They nice thing is that it is not necessarily a bad practice to mow your lawn frequently. Golf courses have lawn service that will be out mowing every single day. The key is that they will never mow too close, exposing the ground beneath. It is very important to keep the ground shaded by the grass. This is the reason that lawn care for gold courses will mow often but at a very specific length.
There are different heights that are recommended for different types of grass. For example, here are suggested heights for some common types of grass:
Zoysia – 1 to 2 inches
Kentucky Bluegrass – 2.5 to 3.5 inches
Perennial Ryegrass – 1.5 to 2.5 inches
Creeping Red Fescues – 3 to 3.5 inches
Turf-Type Tall Fescue – 2 to 3 inches
Common Bermuda Grass – 1 to 2 inches
Hybrid Bermuda grass – 1 to 1.5 inches
Centipede grass – 1 to 2 inches
St. Augustine – 2 to 3 inches
It is often the case the the frequency of mowing will work out to be about once a week. This is obviously the reason that most lawn services tend to mow for their customers on a weekly basis.
Lastly keeping the blades of your mower sharp isn’t just so that it cuts through the grass more easily. A rugged cut on your grass can damage the plant and cause it’s growth to be affected negatively. Meanwhile a clean cut will keep the grass healthy and encourage growth and a thicker plant in general. We all appreciate a lawn that is lush and thick and is a pleasure to walk on bare foot.
So bottom line, don’t let your lawn get so long that you end up cutting half of the length in one day. If you have to, cut only a 1/3 on one day and then the next day cut it down a little more. Most people would prefer to wait as long as possible between mowing sessions.
This is one of the reasons that, many times, it just make a lot of sense to let a professional lawn care service take care of the details and get it done right every time. If you are looking for an experienced team who know how to take good care of your lawn, look no further than FA Lawn Service and Landscaping. We would be happy to make sure that your particular lawn is cared for in it’s unique way.
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