Lawn Care

Proper Mowing Techniques and Pitfalls

By TruGreen

Mowing your lawn
Often delegated to the nearest teenager looking for some extra cash, mowing might seem like a goof-proof chore. But, truth is, lawns that are properly mowed are actually healthier and more beautiful. A properly mowed lawn is thicker and has deeper roots, making it more durable and better equipped to combat weeds, insects, and diseases. Alternately, mowing mistakes can result in discolored grass tips, brown spots, and even damage to the lawn.

Select the proper mowing height for your lawn. Measure the grass plants after mowing a very small area, then adjust your mower as necessary. Always mow your lawn at the recommended cutting height. Optimal mowing height in inches:

Hybrid Bermuda grass	0.5 to 1.0
Common Bermuda grass	1.0 to 1.5
St. Augustine grass, Bahia grass	3.0 to 3.5
Zoysia grass	1.0
Centipede grass	1.0 to 1.5
Rye grass, blue grass, fine fescue	2.5 to 3.0
Tall fescues	2.5 to 3.0

 

Mowing tips

Avoid scalping. Letting grass grow tall and then removing more than 1/3 of the leaf blade is called "scalping" and can damage the lawn. Mowing grass extremely low can also damage the lawn by cutting into the crowns of the plants.

 

Sharpen blades. Make sure your mower blades are sharp in order to cut cleanly. Dull blades can shred grass and cause discoloration at the tips because frayed grass blades lose moisture easily. Sharpen the blades of rotary mowers several times each growing season. Reel type mowers usually only require sharpening once a year, but adjust them to ensure they cut cleanly. Some grass species have tough blades, which causes blades to wear quickly.

 

Be gentle with damaged grass. Raise the mower height a notch or two when mowing a lawn that's recovering from drought, insect damage or disease.

Use your grass clippings. Recycle grass clippings to reduce water loss, lower soil temperatures, and return nutrients to the soil. Plus, you'll save the trouble of bagging and keep clippings out of our already-clogged landfills. In fact, many communities will no longer accept grass clippings in household trash.

 

Don't cut wet or wilted grass. Avoid cutting wet grass, which can cause brown spots because clippings clump together and smother your lawn. Cutting wilted grass, particularly during the hottest part of the day, can also cause severe damage to your lawn.

 

Know when to mow your grass. The best guide for mowing frequency is the growth of your grass. Plan to cut less than one-third of the grass blade in one mowing. Keep in mind that certain grasses, such as bermudagrass, zoysiagrass and centipedegrass, require close mowing to stay healthy. Allowing these grasses to grow too high will promote thatch development.

 

So you miss a mowing. During periods of rapid growth, lawns may require mowing as frequently as every three to four days. Of course, sometimes we just don't have time to mow as often as we'd like. If your grass has grown too high, reset your mower to its highest cutting level. Three or four days later, reset the mower to cut at the normal height and mow your grass again.