Mowing
One of the landscape maintenance factors that contribute to a great looking lawn is regular mowing practices. But the benefit does not end there. A correct mowing procedure has a lot of health benefits for a landscape as well.
Just like pruning removes the dead parts of plants and trees and keeps them at the optimum length to receive nutrition and grow healthily, mowing does the same for grass. Mowing grass to the correct height increases the density of the grass and helps it develop deeper roots. This prevents brown and dry patches on a lawn and increases the life of a landscape. A healthy root system will ensure that all water and nutrients are absorbed from the soil.
Another benefit of having a regular mowing routine is the ability to detect potential disease and insect infestations in the grass early enough to deal with it before it becomes a problem. Fungal infections spread quickly; therefore, it is important to detect them early. An overgrown lawn will make this very difficult.
Different lawns have different mowing requirements. At Down To Earth Landscape & Irrigation, we inspect each landscape carefully and then devise a customized recurring mowing schedule based on the type of grass, climate, season, and specific needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
The lawn mowing frequency depends on the time of the year. The general rule is to mow the lawn once a week. In Florida, the grass grows quickly during the warmer months from April to September, as Florida receives a lot of rainfall during this period. During these months, a lawn needs to be mowed twice a week. When there is not much rainfall, the lawn can be mowed once in two weeks.
Bermudagrass grows more rapidly than other grass types, therefore the ideal mowing frequency for this grass type would be every 3-5 days. Zoysia and Centipede grass grow a bit more slowly, so they can be mowed every 10-14 days.
To cut your grass healthily, you should follow the ⅓ principle – never cut off more than ⅓ of the original height of your grass at once. Scalping your grass is when you remove too much of the grass at one time. This causes long term damage to the grass as it puts it under a lot of stress and affects the root system, leaving it vulnerable to disease, insect infestations and drought.
The right height for grass depends on the type of grass. For example, Bahiagrass should be mowed to a 2.5-4 inches length, while Bermudagrass should be mowed to a height of 0.5-2.5 inches. For Centipede, it is 1-2.5 inches, for Buffalo, it is 1.5-4 inches, for St.Augustine, it is 1-3 inches, and for Zoysia, it is 0.5-3 inches.
These best practices should be followed for safe and proper mowing:
- Any kind of debris (sticks, stones, other obstructive objects) should be cleared from the lawn before mowing to avoid damaging the lawnmower or injuring someone due to projectiles.
- Don’t mow in the same direction every time, as this can create wear patterns in the grass and put the grass at risk of scalping.
- Adjust the cutting length using a ruler to be more precise.
- Sharpen the blades of the mower regularly to avoid tearing the grass-leaf blades. Sweep up any grass clippings left on hardscapes to prevent them from clogging the drains in case of rain.
