Mowing
Height
The number one rule in mowing is:
Never cut more than ⅓ of the height of the blade of grass (this decreases to ¼ on new lawns)
Cutting too short will expose, damage and shock the lawn. This process of scalping your lawn will reduce the growth and start to turn your lawn brown.
Conditions
Avoid cutting in wet conditions.
Cutting in wet conditions can damage your lawn as the quality of the cut is reduced and the mower sinks into the lawn.
Direction
Cutting in the same direction continually will eventually create ruts and trenches from your mower which leads to flattening the grass rather than cutting it.
Blades
Keep your mower blades sharp or the grass will become frayed rather than receive a clean cut. Once a year is normally fine for sharpening the blades.
Estimated seasonal mowing schedule
Every lawn and conditions are different but this gives you a rough idea of the optimal mowing frequency in each season.
Spring |
Every 7-14 days |
Summer |
Every 4-7 days |
Summer (drought) |
Every 14 days |
Autumn |
Every 7-14 days |
Winter |
Never |
Stripes
The lawn enthusiasts bread and butter. Defined lawn stripes are achieved using a mower with a rear roller attachment to flatten the grass in different directions.
Start by cutting along the short ends to make sure you don’t miss any of your lawn. Then mow up and down the longer sides while overlapping slightly to make sure no grass is missed. Make sure you have reached the end of your lawn before turning.