Are you wondering how often should you mow your lawn?
In premise, the frequency of how often you cut your grass will depend on your personal preference, but there are some general guidelines that can make your life easier.
In this article, we will cover everything you need to know, so get your tools ready and keep reading to learn more.
The Fundamentals
As a general outline, grass should be kept much longer in the months of summer. This helps with shading the crown of the grass bed while insisting on promoted root growth.
You don’t want the grass blades too long, as they will start to bow. Having that kind of length can promote lawn diseases by increasing the level of moisture. Also, if you start to mow bowed over blades, it will often result in patchy cutting.
You also need to consider how fast your grass grows when determining the frequency for cutting. The rate of growth might change season to season, as the grass is significantly more potent in the presence of irrigation and sunlight.
It’s recommended by most to cut one-third of the blade length at any given time. Regardless of the actual length of the blades, cutting more than one-third will result in damage.
You also want to leave enough length to allow photosynthesis to do its work. If you cut the grass too short and it starts to yellow, this is a sign that you have mowed too much.
Remembering to mow your lawn with regular frequency will encourage lateral growth, which improves overall density. Gras that is kept too long will continue to grow upward and fight for sunlight. But short grass grows sideways via stolons and rhizomes, which products a more protected grass bed that is not susceptible to weeds.
Most grass types need to be mowed often in the summer when the growth is most potent. Fall and spring mowing will depend on the preferred grass height. Mowing in the winter is most often unnecessary unless your grass gets a growth spell due to warm days.
Mowing Frequency
So how often should you mow your lawn in Florida? As mentioned earlier, the rate of growth and desired height will determine the true necessity for mowing.
Typically, mowing once a week during the summer should keep your lawn healthy.
The rest of the seasons, you can reduce the frequency to every other week, or as necessary.
1/3 Rule
It can be tempting to overburden yourself with an overgrown lawn, but removing most of the grass blades in one session will stress the grass.
Cutting too much depletes the food-producing partitions of the grass, which starves your lawn and turns it brown. When you mow your lawn, remember the 1/3 rule.
If you happen to need to cut more, mow it on a regular basis until the desired height has been achieved. However, never cut more than 1/3 of the grass length, remember the consequences.
How Often Should You Mow Your Lawn? Don’t Worry Too Much
The longer you allow the lawn to grow (in terms of length, not time – some people need to mow lawn once a month, others need to mow lawn every 2 weeks), the longer the root system will be. The longer the system, the more stress-resistant your lawn is.
The more drought and stress-resistant your law, the less watering is needed. In addition to this, longer blades also have more surface area for photosynthesis, which produces energy and nutrition to the plants.
However, it’s quite easy to overdo, so strike a balance of medium length. For the last cutting season, make the cut short. Leaving the grass short for the winter will reduce the chances of winter kill (and that will ensure that your grass lives through many seasons to come).
Additional “Cut Your Grass” Tips
Ensure that your mowing blades are always sharp. Having dull blades will rip your grass instead of cutting it. Each torn grass blade is open for disease, and consequently excess stress to the lawn. Mowing a wet lawn often causes the same problem, so try avoiding early morning dew.
If you do mow the lawn when wet, you will result in ruts, and the grass will begin to lean over. As long as your lawn is healthy and no problems occur with the thatch, feel free to leave the clippings during the process.
Mulching is a good idea, but not necessary. As long as the clippings are not overbearing, they will not harm the lawn. The clippings will break down after some time and will result in nitrogen for the lawn.
Before you mow, make sure that the grass is tall enough to justify the cut. Cutting grass too short will lead to weak roots that will struggle for fertilizer and water. The result is a bad lawn.
The ideal length for healthy grass is about 3 or 3.5 inches, tall enough for strong and deep roots.
Lawn Care for You
Grass is a living organism so it requires a tailored approach, and sometimes the type of grass does not appreciate a general approach as outlined in this article. In that case, we recommend getting in touch with us, so that we can determine the best possible course of action for getting your lawn healthy.
As long as you follow the general guidelines and find your preferences, your lawn will look better than ever.
Now that you know how often should you mow your lawn, you are well on your way to taking your yard to the next level. Contact us and we will happily accommodate your needs.
