It should come as no surprise that how often you mow your lawn largely depends on how fast your grass grows (at least we hope that’s not a surprise). The real question is: how do you know when to mow? Generally, the rule is to mow your lawn when the grass reaches about one third higher than the recommended mowing height. In this article, we will discuss the common lawn-mowing mistakes most people make, and what you should be doing instead. Follow these tips, and you’ll have a healthy-looking lawn all summer long!

Letting your lawn get too high:

If you let your lawn grow too high and then mow it, it’s no big deal, right? Wrong. First, the grass can get sunburned — kind of like taking your shirt off at the beach for the first time in the summer. When grass gets real tall, the lower parts are shaded. When you cut the grass, the shaded part of the blade isn’t used to the sun and burns. That’s bad.

Cutting really long grass also shocks the roots. The height of the grass relates directly to the depth of the roots. Well, if you whack off a large portion of the top, you’re cutting off the food, and you hurt the roots.

Last of all, mowing tall grass makes a mess. You have to clean up all those clippings because if you don’t, the extra-long clippings can smother the grass, and that’s really bad. Besides, those clumps of grass look terrible.

Cutting your grass too short:

How MUCH you mow is often more important than how often. Cutting your lawn too short can be just as damaging as letting it grow too tall. It seems backwards, but it’s true that mowing can be unhealthy for the lawn.

It can be tempting to hack away at an overgrown lawn, removing most of the length of grass blades in one session. Don’t do it. If your lawn looks yellow and dried out after you’ve mowed it, you probably have the blade on your mower set too low.

So remember: Before you mow, ensure your grass is tall enough to justify it. The ideal height for healthy grass is about 3 to 3 1/2 inches — tall enough to develop deep, strong roots. And remember, if you don’t want to or don’t have time to mow your lawn yourself, we have a fleet of professionals to get the job done for you. Order a Mowz on your Smartphone today, or head over to our online ordering form here.

To learn more about ideal mowing heights for specific grass types, check out this helpful site.