Mowing your lawn is a vital part of lawn care, but how often you should mow your lawn isn’t a one-size-fits-all scenario.
Sure, that’d be easier, but admit it, you’re excited to perfect mowing your lawn, not just following some arbitrary mow every Sunday piece of advice.
There’s a methodology to it. A science. An art.
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Depends on Where You Live
Your mowing frequency greatly depends on where you live. According to research in the United States, the Northeast spends the most time mowing their lawn, followed by the Midwest, the South, then the West.
But regardless of how many days you spend mowing your lawn this year, or in your life, or where you live, you want to have the best-looking lawn possible. And to grow a great lawn, you need to take care to mow appropriately, both for the time of year, where you’re located, and the weather.
How often you mow can depend on your growing season.
The farther north you are, the narrower your growing season, and the earlier your “summer peak” is.
If you’re in the South, your growing season peak might not be until the end of August or September.
Keep an eye on the weather and as long as it’s remaining sunny and hot, your grass should remain a little longer and you can mow less often.
As the temperatures start to cool off, you can go back to mowing more frequently, cutting it at 2 ½ inches.
Where you live can also affect what kind of grass you plant, and how often you mow.
Mowing Bermudagrass
If you’re growing Bermudagrass, you may need to mow twice a week in the spring and early summer.
It’s important to not cut more than 1/3 of the grass blade off at once, so however often you need to mow, you should to maintain a healthy lawn.
But When You Have Cooler Season Grass…
But if you have a cooler season grass, like Kentucky bluegrass, you may not need to mow as often in the spring, but more in the fall.
Kentucky bluegrass is a cool season grass, meaning it has shallower roots but does better in the winter.
This makes it even more important that you allow it time to grow a solid root system, and water it frequently between mowing.
Longer Days = Less Mowing
In the spring and fall, you need to cut your lawn more often to keep the grass fairly short.
Experts recommend about 2 ½ inches tall to get that pristine manicured look for your lawn.
How often you mow will depend on how fast your grass is growing.
You do not want to cut more than 1/3 of the grass blade off at a time, or you may risk bald spots in your lawn.
Check your lawn regularly. In the South, or with a fast-growing grass type, you may need to mow the lawn two to three times a week in the spring.
But if you live somewhere where summers are hot and sunny, and your lawn doesn’t have a lot of shade, you’ll want to adjust your mowing habits for the summer.
In The Summer You Do Not Want To Mow As Often
If you were mowing twice a week in the spring, try mowing only once a week. This is because your grass needs to be a little longer in the summer.
When the grass blades are longer, then they also have longer, deeper roots.
Longer, deeper roots are important for a healthy, thick lawn. They help the plants pull nutrients and water from deeper in the soil.
Secondly, leaving the grass a little longer provides more shade for the soil, which means less evaporation of water from the soil.
That means less watering for you, and less likelihood of having brown grass.
If you cut the grass too short in the summer, you may get brown spots, or a whole brown yard.
If that happens, don’t panic. Keep watering, and give the lawn some time to bounce back.
Brown grass doesn’t mean it’s dead.
The roots are alive.
It just needs water and some cooler temperatures to start growing again.
Rainy Days? No Mowing!
The weather is also a factor in your mowing habits.
Wet grass doesn’t cut well and it may result in uneven, choppy grass.
Additionally, wet clippings can clump together and harden against the soil, killing the grass beneath it, and blocking water and nutrients from absorbing into the soil.
If you’re growing Kentucky bluegrass in the Southern United States and you need to keep it watered often, make sure you do not water just before you mow.
You’ll want to make a schedule for your lawn by season, even if your climate doesn’t experience huge shifts in temperature. The daylight shift is enough to affect plants like grass.
In the spring, you’ll want to sow new seeds, begin your watering regimen, and start your mowing. Where your grass grows fast and early, like in the South, you may be mowing two to three times a week in the spring.
By summer, you’ll want to pick up the watering but slow down your mowing schedule.
In the fall, you’ll want to prep your lawn for the winter by increasing your mowing, aerating your soil, and fertilizing so the grass has enough nutrients to make it through the winter.
So How Often SHOULD you mow?
How often you mow depends on how fast your grass is growing, the season, and if there’s a lot of moisture on the ground and on your grass.
By checking your lawn regularly and by being adjustable in your mowing schedule instead of an arbitrary day of the week, you can mow your lawn to perfection.
Taking care of your lawn is important to have a healthy, lush lawn that increases curb appeal and provides a safe and fun atmosphere for families and pets.
