There’s no scientific formula that applies to all lawns when it comes to how long you should wait in between mowing jobs. But by looking at these areas, you can become a yard pro and mow the lawn exactly when it needs it. Just make sure to check out our lineup so you always have the best tools for the job!
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Grass Height
This is, hands down, the most important indicator of when you should be mowing your lawn. Unlike haircuts, grass has a pretty specific height range at which it’ll thrive best, and going over or under — especially under — is the quickest way to make it look sick and unhappy.
Generally speaking, your grass is happiest when it’s at the 3-3.5 inch mark. There will obviously be exceptions to different kinds of grass species and time of year, but for the most part, you’ll want to stay within this range. However, when it comes time to crop the blades to this height, make sure you’re also paying attention to…
Percentage of Grass Cut
You know how you never feel it’s that big of a deal to go to the hairdresser’s and ask for just your ends to be tidied up? That’s because he or she is essentially keeping your look intact without too much of a change. Now picture the same hairdresser’s but asking him or her to take off half your hair. That’s a pretty big shock!
Your lawn sort of feels the same way. Set your blades too low and take off too much, and you’ll send it into a mild state of shock where it can’t get enough nutrients. You’ll know you’re cutting too much if your grass looks burnt, yellow, patchy or dry. A really easy way to avoid this is to stick to the rule of thirds: never take off more than a third of the grass height at one time. If your lawn is particularly high, then this will mean repeated cuts spread out over a couple of weeks.
Water Availability
The drought in California right now is a perfect example of how vital water is to a lush, healthy lawn — and how a lack of it should be taken as a sign to keep on with a lawn instead of looking to other, less thirsty species. Grass really, really likes water and when there’s a dearth of it, it’ll go to sleep and stop growing for a bit.
When there’s regular rainfall and your lawn is growing at a fast rate, you’ll be bringing the lawn mower out more and when the skies are a little drier, consider this your okay to sit inside and enjoy an extra beer.
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Air Temperature
We briefly alluded to this in the first point when we wrote about time of year having a lot to do with how much to mow your lawn. Grass can essentially be divided into cold or warm seasons, which just means they grow best in a certain climate. But even when you’ve matched the right grass to where you live, like Kentucky bluegrass for New England or centipedegrass for Florida, you still have to take the weather into consideration.
At the beginning of the mowing season, you’ll be looking at making an initial cut just to “spark” the grass into the new season, then leaving your lawn mower alone until needed. As the season warms up, you’ll be using your lawn mower more and more until we approach September, and then you’ll go down to once every other week until you reach the last couple of cuts.
