If you’re anything like 99.99 percent of homeowners, there are some simple things about caring for your lawn you may not be aware of. One of the most basic things many people don’t know about lawn care is at what height the grass should be cut. Well, the good news is it’s not rocket science – and it’s not complicated to remember either! Here’s what height you should to cut your grass.
Does Grass Type Matter?
Every type of grass has an ideal mowing height, so it will pay to make sure you know what type of grass you have when you think about how much grass you need to cut. If you can maintain your lawn’s grasses at their ideal height, then you’ll be rewarded with healthy and lush grass that is drought resistant, fends weeds off easily, and can’t be brought down by disease.
Forget What You Know
If you want to learn to cut your grass the right way, then you have to forget all the things you’ve been taught that are wrong first. Let go of the idea that shorter grass has to be mowed less often. That’s a myth started by a lazy person who didn’t enjoy cutting their grass, no doubt. Cutting your grass too short will lead to big problems such as heat damage and weed invasion.
Plus, if you let your grass grow too much between cuttings, then you run the risk of creating a love shack in your lawn for pests such as mosquitoes and mice, snakes, and voles. Grass that’s too long becomes difficult to mow and the clippings create more work for you since they usually need to be raked or you risk smothering the healthy grass underneath.
Even during peak growth season, you’ll only need to mow your lawn every five to seven days. But the ideal amount of time depends on the type of grass you have and its ideal height.
The Ideal Height
If you have cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass and fescues, then you’ll want to make sure to keep it between one and four inches high at its peak season – fall and spring.
Warm season grasses such as zoysia, centipede, Bermuda, and St. Augustine will be at their peak season in summer. The ideal growing height varies, so some investigation needs to be done on your part to understand what specific type of grass you have and what it’s ideal height is.
The general rule of thumb when it comes to cutting your grass is pretty easy to remember: Never cut off more than a third of the blade. So, for instance, if your grass is three inches high, never cut off more than an inch.
A Few Extra Tips
Now that you understand how to determine the ideal mowing height, here are a few extra tips:
- Mow warm-season grasses shorter in the springtime in order to help remove dead grass
- Allow grass growing in shade to grow a bit taller
- Allow all grasses, no matter type, to grow taller in the dryer, drought-ridden parts of summer
- Mow cool season turf shorter when you mow for the last time in the fall, especially in regions that get snow
So, there you have it! Now go out this summer and conquer your lawn mowing – at the correct height, of course!