Mow, Mow, Mow Your Lawn

Practical Mowing Tips from Harry Bambi, Sales Supervisor/Senior Technician:

 

This has been a relatively mild spring for Montgomery County, but despite the cooler weather, the lawns are pushing new growth, given turf in Southeastern PA is the ideal climate for cool season turf grasses, like tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial rye.  Whether you are taking care of the lawn yourself or have a company servicing it, your lawn will grow at a fast pace this time of year.  This can be a challenging time for homeowners as it may require more frequent mowing than usual. 

From Flourtown to Collegeville, most of us are accustomed to a ritual of weekly mowing.  The burden of mowing every four or five days is more than many of our packed schedules can accommodate.  The good news is that the reproductive growth spurt is short-lived and may only require more frequent mowing for a period of two to three weeks. A few extra cuttings over the month of May will certainly pay dividends in terms of a reduced incidence of stress-induced summer lawn problems. 

A dull blade will tear the turf and promote disease activity and additional stress

 

 The golden rule of mowing is to remove no more than 1/3 of the grass blade per cutting.  By removing more than this, the lawn can become stressed, which will show by the lawn appearing to be a faded color of green.  Most people want their lawn to look like a golf course (understandable!) and think that cutting the lawn extremely low will have their front yard looking like Augusta.  While it will bear a resemblance to a putting green for a short time, the reality is the lawn will be much more susceptible to insect and disease activity as well as the cultural stress of scalping the lawn.  The golf course superintendent applies a variety of fungicides and curative products to eliminate these hazards and they still have outbreaks despite a full crew focusing on the beauty of the turf. 

Some other tips to give your lawn the perfect cut:

•  Sharpen your blades before the mow of the season

  

  A properly cut lawn with a sharp blade means a healthy lawn!

•  Set your mower to its highest setting

•  Never remove more than 1/3 of the grass blade

•      Leave your mulched grass clippings on the lawn

For more helpful tips on maintaining a beautiful lawn and landscape, visit http://montgomery.weedmanusa.com/