How Often Should I Mow My Lawn?

You’d think that you’d know how often to mow your lawn based purely on how long your grass is. However, there are a few things to consider, to ensure long term, problem free, maintenance of a beautiful lawn.

Here are some pointers on managing your lawn:

Firstly, grass will grow at different rates depending on:

• Type of grass
• Rainfall (or lack thereof)
• Season
• Nutrients and water

Some tips: How Often Should I Mow My Lawn?

• Grass in parts of your lawn may grow faster than in other parts if it is being fed by a source of nutrients, such as nitrogen from septic tank leach. Don’t leave these areas to grow ‘out of control’ before you mow the entire lawn. The grass can break your mower!
• It’s fine to mow your grass to its finest level when it is green and healthy, primed to grow back. Grass is a plant – as prone to stress as much as any other plant. If it’s not too long and you are going into winter, it’s better to leave it for a while. You don’t want to give your lawn a ‘number one’, only to wake up to an expanse of bald spots after a cold night and a morning layer of frost.
• If you are fertilising your lawn, or if there’s a lot of rainfall, be prepared to mow more often. This will also stop the emergence of other plants and weeds that benefit from the fertiliser. These can start to replace your grass if left unchecked. Not an issue if you like wildflowers, but a problem if you want a ‘bowls’ quality lawn.
• If you leave the grass to grow too long in summer, you might mow green grass, and find your manicured lawn turning brown shortly afterwards. This is due to emergent grass blades burning when suddenly exposed to summer sun. You can also kill the grass, as the roots grow along with the blades. If you cut overly long grass short, you can shock the roots that depend on the grass.
• Your lawn mower is an important part of your yard care equipment. It is important to choose the right lawn mower for your needs. There are a few factors you should consider when choosing a lawn mower.

Finally, different varieties of grass thrive at different lengths. It’s best to get advice on how often to mow according to the type of grass you have.