How Often Should You Really Mow Your Lawn? Experts Explain Why You Might Be Cutting It Too Much
Mowing your lawn too little or too much can be detrimental to its health. Here's how to perfectly gauge how much mowing yours needs to thrive.
It's a chore many of us have to do, whether we delay it or we love making our yard look pristine with mowed lines in the grass. I'm personally not the biggest fan of mowing my lawn and tend to put off the task in comparison to other work I need to do in the yard – so if you're like this, you're not alone!
But thinking about this had me wondering, how often does a person truly need to mow their lawn for it to look good and be healthy? Is it something that varies based on area, climate, or season?
I decided to ask an assortment of lawn care and landscaping pros about it so you will know exactly how often to mow your lawn. In fact, you may actually be cutting the grass too much! Here's what the pros have to say.
How Often Should You Mow Your Lawn?
In an ideal world, there would be a simple answer to this question, but everyone's lawn is different. However, the answer the pros gave me is still an easy enough piece of advice to follow.
Gene Caballero, co-founder of GreenPal and long-time landscaper, explained to me that the frequency a person mows their lawn should follow the growth rate of their grass, which tends to be impacted by changing seasons.
He said, "The correct mowing schedule depends on the actual growth rate and not on the calendar. For instance during the peak season, homeowners often mow about once a week. Then in the slower season, some may need to shift to every two weeks."
This is good advice to follow. Though, if you know your grass tends to grow more slowly, consider altering your weekly mow to every other week instead. Also, modify how high you cut the grass depending on the season.
What Does Mowing Too Much or Too Little Do?
If you mow your lawn too much when it's already short, you're more likely to have dry grass that develops yellow patches in the warm weather.
Don Chouinard, a former contractor and lawn care expert, as well as a leader at Irrigreen explains, "Frequent short mowing encourages shallow roots. The grass keeps its energy near the surface instead of pushing roots down, and shallow-rooted turf dries out fast in heat and recovers poorly from drought."
A lawn that is constantly being cut also requires more care and water and can grow more slowly, because it needs to use up all its energy resources to heal from the constant chopping.
If you mow your lawn too little you're also more likely to cause damage to the grass – and your lawn mower. Long grass being suddenly pulled out of the ground is a shock to the lawn, and it may result in blades being tugged out by the root instead of cleanly chopped.
Common Signs It's Time to Mow
Investing in a measuring stick, like this grass gauge from Amazon, tells you how tall your grass is. Knowing that is a simple way to know when it's time to mow. You can try to eyeball it and just look at the grass itself. But a tool like this provides a specific measurement, which is a better accountability partner to encourage you to mow when needed.
Brian Feldman of TruGreen also recommends following what's known as the "one-third rule," which he defines this way, "Your mowing frequency should guide you to cut no more than one-third of the grass blade in a single session."
This will ensure that your summer lawn won't be damaged by a large cut. If your lawn is already on the shorter side, you'll be able to gauge more quickly if there's even a third of the lawn's blades that need mowing.
If you're hosting lots of barbecues and making the most out of the sunny weather in your area, it's important to remember that the weight of garden furniture and increased foot traffic can impact your lawn as well. The grass in high-traffic areas might not grow in the same way as in areas of your yard that are more left alone, making it harder to know when or where to mow.
You can remedy this by hosting in different parts of your yard, aerating your lawn, or considering installing a foot path that leads to areas you often visit so the grass won't be repeatedly walked on.
Shop Lawn Mowing Essentials
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Aerate your lawn while walking around doing your mowing or enjoying time in the garden. Two birds with one stone!
A lawn edger like this one will make getting into the nooks, crannies, and corners of your lawn a breeze. It really helps to make things look neat and tidy.
