The benefits of proper mowing height

Lawns can suffer many forms of stress throughout the growing season.  Most of them are out of our control as homeowners, except for this important one; mowing height.  I can give everyone reading this blog some FREE advice that will make an immediate impact on the appearance of your lawn. Raise the mowing height on your mower today so that your lawn gets cut at a minimum of 3". The benefits achieved are: Color; longer leaf blades retain more moisture, which produces more color at the grass tip and prevents dormancy (brown).  Shade; taller grass leaf blades protect the crowns and keep the soil cooler which also helps prevent dormancy.  Deeper Roots; a taller turf plant requires deeper roots which give the plant more moisture- and nutrient-gathering capabilities. Plant Health; all of these factors along with proper irrigation and our Lawn Maintainer Program produce an overall healthier lawn with limited insect, disease and dormancy succeptability.

Look at the pictures below, I see this time and time again. Taller grasses are greener and healthier, shorter grasses are thinner, more brown and insect infected.  Same program, different mowing techniques.  Which lawns would you like to come home to everyday?

This is a classic example of mowing height differences; lawn on right mowed below 2", lawn on left mowed at the recommended height of 3".

This is another side-by-side picture; lawn on left mowed at recommended height and lawn on right mowed below recommend height.  Exact same fertilizers, seed and weed controls applied to both lawns.



Lawn grass mowed below recommended 3" height, notice the yellow color below the 2" mark.

Why do so many homeowners insist on mowing so low? Maybe the golf course industry is to blame.  However, golf courses use bentgrasses and a reel mower to get their results.  Unfortunately for their efforts, homeowners attempting to replicate golf course conditions by implementing shorter lawn mowing practices only produce more problems than results. I hope this helps to explain why it is so important and beneficial to keep cool season lawn grasses mowed on the high side.

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