Mowing your lawn at the correct height is the key to keeping your grass uniform and attractive. Most lawns in our area are a mixture of Kentucky Bluegrass and Creeping Red Fescue. These grasses will do their best when cut at 2-3 inches above soil level. Grass cut at this height shades the soil and helps keep weed seeds from germinating. Shade also keeps the soil temperature cooler which is beneficial.

Cutting your lawn too short will weaken the grass and make it more susceptible to disease and drought damage.  If you want to check the mowing height of your lawn mower, place it on a hard surface and measure from the cutting blade to the surface.

Lawn should be cut fairly often to avoid difficult cutting, raking and removing of excess "hay." Damage to the lawn grass can occur by removing to much of the plant at one time. Mow your lawn when the grass gets 3-4 inches tall.

For a newly seeded lawn, mow the grass when it reaches 3 inches in height. It should be cut back to two inches. Grass growing in stress areas such as shade and dry, sunny slopes can be grown longer.

Before mowing your lawn, make sure that the blade on your mower is sharp. Dull blades fray the leaf tips turning them brown. Dull mowers also take more power and fuel to operate.

Excessive clippings (when you let your grass grow too tall between mowing) should be removed or they will shade the grass beneath and look unsightly when they turn brown. Extra clippings can be used in your compost pile.

This page was last updated April 2003

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