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This gardening and landscaping guide on cutting grass shall explore how often a person should cut grass. Accordingly, the rate and frequency of mowing home grass vary according to the following factors:
- Growth rate
- Your watering frequency
- The type of grass you are growing
- The amount of sun exposure to your lawn
- The frequency of watering your lawn
- Quality of supplements such as fertilizers you add to the lawn
- The climate in your location
Although some landscape experts recommend mowing once a week, gardeners have no clear rule to follow. Grass will require regular pruning to maintain a third of its initial height, suitable sizes and a lovely appearance. When you mow the lawn,
Our mowing guide will also include tips on scheduling when to cut your grass for a stunning and well-cared home lawn. If you choose to sell your home later, realtors advise you to keep your lawn looking stunning because it will increase the value of your home. Remember, the first thing people notice when they visit is your lawn, so cutting your grass right matters.
Factors That Determine How Often Should You Cut Your Grass at Home
Maintaining a schedule for cutting grass in your home is essential for your lawn outlook. However, do not base it on a specific period. Instead, get your grass cutting right by considering the following factors that affect its height and consequent frequency of mowing:
1. The Climate Around Your Home or Time of Year
The climate of the place where you live significantly affects how grass grows. Grass grows faster in warmer climates because it gets longer hours of sun exposure than in colder. Therefore, a person living in the warm will cut grass more often than in a cold area. Climate affects the frequency of cutting grass in the following ways:
- Ideally, grass thrives more in warmer climates with hotter seasons, prompting high frequency in mowing seasons with mild temperatures.
- Grass thrives more during colder months during cool seasons. This scenario triggers a higher mowing frequency during colder months of fall.
No matter the season or location you live in or the type of grass (warm-season grass or cool-season grass), you will always discover that every season, your mowing rate change as temperature varies. Growth is optimal during spring and autumn, prompting gardeners to cut the grass once in 7 to 10 days and at least once in two weeks during hot summer.
Besides, the growth rate in different seasons also impacts the height of the grass. The standard height you should let the grass grow to in cool-season is three and a half inches, and 2 inches is for warm-season grass.
When Do you Begin or Stop cutting grass?
Landscapers recommend that you begin cutting grass in the early days of warm seasons as you prepare for high growth and high-frequency cutting rates. Although people may be in the same country, the onset of warmer climates varies significantly due to differences in temperate seasons.
Stop cutting grass in the fall because this is the season when the rate of growth declines. Observe the growth rate as you slow the mowing rate from bi-weekly to weekly and then monthly.
2. The Amount and Hours of Sunlight Exposure in Your Home
Sunlight is important in determining the frequency at which you should cut grass in your compound. For instance, grass that receives more sunlight requires more frequent mowing than those in shady areas. The latter is because the grass in well-lit areas grows faster than in areas shielded by trees or house structures.
3. The Grass’s Rate of Growth
You will need to cut grass more often if it grows swiftly. On average, you can cut it twice a week if it overgrows rapidly. Otherwise, mowing the grass once a week will keep it vibrant. The following factors have an impact on the rate of growth of the grass in your lawn:
· Watering Frequency
Grass will grow faster if you water it more frequently. If you live in a rainier location, its growth rate will also increase, prompting you to schedule cutting it more often. On the contrary, a person that waters the grass less frequently may hinder its growth, which means the grass will require less mowing.
· Fertilizers
Homeowners that fertilize their lawns will highly likely cut grass more frequently. The rate increases in they use nitrogen fertilizer. You can reduce the fertilization rate if you do not wish to mow the grass more often.
4. The 1/3 Rule
Members of the Integrated Pest Management Program of the University of California advise gardeners never to cut their home’s grass beyond 1/3 while mowing. This rule applies especially when the grass has overgrown and you are tempted to cut it once.
Instead, begin with the first 30 percent and wait for the grass to regrow before you can shorten the blade further. However, do not let the grass blade grow to a full 1/3 before cutting it in the consequent round. Remember, the grass will regrow faster than before, thanks to the grass clipping from the last mowing. These clippings disintegrate to give the grass nutrients such as nitrogen for its growth.
Shorten the grass gradually to prevent shocking the grass, which is visible through discoloration. Accordingly, if you cut more than one-third of the grass blade, you may cause malnutrition by denying the grass its essential nutrients.
Additionally, when you have more than one-third of the grass in the first instance, you expose the lower half of the grass to the scorching sun. Remember that the upper third of the grass provides shade to the lower parts to prevent the grass from withering.
Removing more than one-third of the blade of overgrown grass may cause clumping by suffocating the lawn. Your home lawn may not look appealing with clumping all over. Therefore, cut only one-third at a time to help maintain the stunning look of your lawn.
Remove only 30 percent of the growth each time. Cut it more often if it is significantly overgrown until the day its height reaches the desired level.
5. Consider Lawn Height
Sometimes the grass in the lawn may be too tall or too short, and you must consider this factor before mowing. If you disregard this step and go right into mowing short grass, you can easily affect its root system, which is important for its health.
As a result, the grass discolors or becomes malnourished because the roots cannot efficiently absorb nutrients or water. On the other side, if you leave the lawn to grow too high, your lawn may appear messy due to overgrown weeds such as moss.
The general rule is for every gardener to let their grass grow to a maximum of 3 ½ inches and a minimum of 3 inches. Monitor your lawn to ensure that grass does not exceed the maximum height. However, remember that height depends on the grass you choose to grow on your lawn. Ensure you research well to understand such requirements before choosing a grass type for the best results.
6. The Type of Grass
Every grass type has an ideal mowing height you must consider before cutting. Otherwise, you may alter its root if you cut it beyond its recommended height. Moreover, every grass has exhibited unique growth that determines how often it is cut.
· Short Height Grasses (¼, 1, 1 ½, 2 to 2 1/2 inches)
Some people prefer short grass for their lawns. They go for grass grown on golf courses because of its short root system. Such grass types should grow to an ideal height from ¼, 1, 1 ½, 2 to 2 1/2 inches. These grasses include the following:
- Bermuda grass (hybrid type)
- Centipede grass
- Bentgrass
- Ryegrass (annual)
- Fescue (fine grass)
- St. Augustine grass
- Zoysia grass
- Ryegrass (perennial)
- Ryegrass (annual)
This type of grass requires more fertilizer and water to maintain. This also means that the grass grows faster, prompting people to cut it more often.
· Long Grasses (3 to 4 inches)
If you love to grow flowers in between grass, you will have tall grasses on your lawn. Such grasses remain a better choice for someone that does not love mowing frequently. Most tall grasses require only 4 inches to allow gardeners to plant flowers such as daisies, wildflowers, and lilies in between the grass.
- Buffalo grass
- Blue grama grass
- Fescue (tall grass)
- Bahia grass
Schedule to mow and maintain a single-entry point into a long grass lawn. Besides, you must frequently cut grass at the edges of the lawn to maintain an ideal look.
However, let the grass grow to approximately 30% above the required mowing height to get ideal results for long and short grass types. For instance, let the 2 inches grow to at least 3 inches before mowing.
· Cool-season Grasses
Ensure that you keep this type of grass at a height between 1 and 3 inches to get a stunning look on your lawn. Examples of cool-season grasses include the following, Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass.
7. Mowing New Grass
If you plant new grass in your home, you must wait to surpass its standard mowing height by at least 30% of the recommended height. Remember, mowing new grass requires extra caution because it has not yet developed its roots fully.
Therefore, this grass should be cut differently from the rest of the lawn. Besides, have minimal activities in this area if you must. Otherwise, let the grass grow undisturbed until it reaches 3 inches high, depending on the grass types you choose for your lawn.
Conclusion on how often should you cut your grass at home
Although mowing frequency varies, ensure that you cut the grass once it reaches the recommended height for a healthy landscape. Understand your lawn and your grass type to apply the 1/3 Rule. Use a clean blade to cut grass and leave grass clipping behind to nourish the soil. Also, remember to wear protective clothing when cutting grass.
Do not leave your lawn long as you move into the new season. Remember, if you see patches in your lawn, you have an infrequent mowing tendency, which may leave you without grass to cut. Consider the standard height requirement and cut grass as often as required for a beautiful lawn.
Mowing is an exciting task, but it’s not an easy physical task. If you’re a beginner, I wrote an article on how to mow a lawn for beginners. You can read
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