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Even as simple and easy as it seems to be, cutting your lawn correctly is actually one of the main lawn care jobs that most people either do wrong or overlook.
It takes a little more care and attention than most people realise, which is usually why they aren’t getting the results they want.
So in light of this I’m going to be sharing a few basic mowing tips that will help you get your lawn looking at its best.
Now, the conditions obviously change throughout the year so I’ve divided up the post into seasons to give your more accurate advice.
Spring
Since you lawn has just went through winter, it has likely experienced some harsh weather conditions so it’s likely to be pretty fragile.
This means you’re going to want to cause as little stress to it as possible, and to do this you need to make sure you DO NOT cut off anymore than 1/3 off the length of each grass blade.
Not only that but it promotes better growth because of the bigger surface area, reduces the risk of soil compaction and makes it less vulnerable to disease and pests.
So overall (not just is spring – usually) it’s a pretty good rule to live by.
Frequency
You’ll also want to start mowing a little and often, about once per week will be enough, for similar reasons.
Just make sure you remember to gradually build this as you make your way into summer.
Aim to keep the height of your grass the same throughout the entirety of spring, of course this will be different for everyone and depends on your lawn.
For most people this should be between 1 & 1½ inches, for those with a lawn that’s been through a bit of wear and tear, keep it at about 2 inches and for those in the shade, keep it at 3 inches.
Ideally, you’ll want to maintain the grass a little higher than these measurements so that you definitely don’t cut it too short.
This could cause a number of problems, like increasing the likelihood of weeds and moss appearing, so I think you’ll want to avoid it.
Summer
Just like in spring, you want to abide by the 1/3 rule during summer.
As with your mowing frequency, this really depends on the weather conditions.
Because of the warmer weather, you’d expect the grass to grow much faster than it has over the past few months, therefore you’d have to mow more often. But you could be wrong.
With warm weather often comes dry weather, which I’m sure you know, makes for poor growing conditions.
If this is the case then lay off the mowing to (at least) once per week, just like you were doing in spring, and keep the grass at least an inch long.
But if the conditions are good for growing, ie. a good amount of rainfall, then you can up your frequency to twice a week – while following the same lawn height rules.
Additional Jobs
Also, if you’re planning on going away on holiday then try to cut the lawn as close as possible to your leaving date, and remember to trim the edges every now and then.
Autumn
As the growing conditions get worse as the year goes on, you’re going to have to reduce how often you mow your lawn to account for slower growing grass.
For example, if you mow on a weekly basis, once autumn hits and you begin to see slower growth, then you could start mowing every 10 days at the beginning and work your way down from there.
The key is to do so gradually, so feel free to adapt however you like.
The Last Two Mows
For the last two mows before the end of Autumn, you’re actually going to cut the grass a little shorter than you would normally.
Seeing as the weather is likely to go tits up during this period, you want to give the grass as much sunlight exposure as possible in order to promote more growth.
Which is what you’ll be doing by cutting it a little shorter.
This also makes it less likely for your grass to turn brown.
Winter
If the sun does pop out within the clouds and the temperatures reach at least 5°C then you’ll need to get your mower out.
But remember the grass won’t grow much so make sure you cut off anywhere between 10-25% of grass height to stimulate some sort of growth.
Additional Jobs
Also you might want to trim the edges around your lawn and pathways during warmer days just to take full advantage of the good weather.
If you begin to see moss growing around your lawn then make sure there’s at least 1/2″ of grass growing above the moss after mowing.
Ideal Lengths of Grass
To give you hand with figuring out the ideal length of your grass, I’ve drawn up a table below.
| Grass Type | |
|---|---|
| Bent grass | 1/4 to 1 inch |
| Bermudagrass, common | 3/4 to 1-1/2 inches |
| Bermudagrass, hybrid | 1/2 to 1 inch |
| Centipedegrass | 1 to 2 inches |
| Fescue, fine; St. Augustine grass | 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches |
| Kentucky bluegrass | 1-3/4 to 2-1/2 inches |
| Ryegrass, annual and perennial | 1-1/2 to 2 inches |
Hopefully with the tips and advice I’ve shared with you today, you’ll be able to get your lawn looking as sharp as possible.
But if you are unsure of anything I’ve said then please leave a comment below!
If you found this post interesting then maybe you’d like to see some of my other content, like my robomower reviews?
If so then head over to my Robot Lawn Mower Review Page, I’ve reviewed various models all designed for different purposes so if you’re in the market there won’t be a better place to go than here!
