what temperature is “too hot” to mow grass. When temperatures go beyond 80°F, your cool-season grass may begin to struggle. And when high temperatures last for extended periods of time, it can cause your grass' growth to slow down and its vibrant green color to fade.
Check the soil: If the it looks muddy or feels soft, it's usually better to wait. Ideally, you should wait until the grass is dry enough so that you can walk through the lawn and not have wet shoes.
Once your grass has come out of its dormant state, you may be wondering when you should start cutting it again. Generally speaking, if it is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, it is still considered to be too cold to mow your lawn. The ideal temperatures to mow are between 50 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
AVOID MOWING DURING EXTREME HEAT When your lawn is particularly stressed from heat or drought, it can be limited in its ability to recover from mowing and can be damaged even more. Instead, mow the grass after a rainfall or after irrigation day.
Once temperatures reach 77 degrees, it becomes too hot for root growth, and root growth ceases. When temperatures reach 90 degrees, it becomes too hot for shoot growth and the grasses stop growing and begin to fall dormant, with the surface grass turning a brown hue.
So, what's the best time of day to mow a lawn in hot weather? Plan to mow your lawn during the evening hours, after the heat of the day has passed. The temperature should be between 40°F and 80°F.
Grass needs the benefit of the day to dry and heal before dusk settles. Since mowing your grass in the early morning can damage it and mowing it during the early afternoon can burn it because of all the high temperatures, the ideal time is mid-morning. That is of course if you're free during that time of day.
Yes, it can be. The heat leaves your grass 'stressed' and cutting it too often or too short can make this worse. If you do mow, try doing so a day or so after it rains, when your grass is likely to be happier.
Mower Height
A mowing height between 2.5 to 3 inches is best for most of the season, except during summer stresses when the lawn mowing height should be raised one-half inch to mow at 3 to 3.5 inches. Raising the mowing height provides more insulation from summer heat and reduces water loss from your soil.
If you wait until the middle of the morning, then you have enough time for the morning dew on the grass to dry. The ideal time is between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Plus, you also avoid possibly getting heat exhaustion or sunburn by working outside in the midday sun.
Mowing every two weeks — instead of weekly — and not dousing grass with chemical herbicides and fertilizers, helps the environment and supports the health of bees, which are among the world's most important pollinators.
However, when the weather is hot and generally dry, you'll be safe to mow either every 5 or 6 days. Ultimately, during the summer, you should expect to almost never wait a whole week to mow your lawn. Waiting too long to mow your lawn can overwork and damage older mowers — learn about our lawn mower repair service.
No Mow May was first popularized by Plantlife, an organization based in the United Kingdom, but is now gaining traction across North America. The goal of No Mow May is to pause mowing during the month of May, allowing flowers to bloom in your lawn to help early season pollinators.
'As long as your blades are sharpened, and the grass isn't not soaking wet, mowing in the early morning dew is totally fine,' says Douglas Dedrick.
When cutting your grass in the heat, try to stick to the 1/3 Rule: Never remove more than 1/3 of grass height at one time. By sticking to this rule, your lawn is kept cooler because less plant tissue is removed. This allows your lawn to thrive and avoid stress.
It's best to wait for wet grass to dry before mowing. Wet grass clippings can clog your mower, causing it to choke and spit out clumps of wet grass that could smother and kill your lawn if left unraked. It's best to wait for wet grass to dry before mowing.
Mowing actually helps make your grass grow thicker because the tip of each blade contains hormones that suppress horizontal growth. When you cut the lawn, you remove these tips allowing the grass to spread and grow thicker near the roots.
In the summer, keep both cool-season and warm-season grasses slightly taller. Cut cool-season grasses to 3 or 3 ½ inches. Mow warm-season grasses to 2 or 2 ½ inches. In summer, grass can be kept a bit higher to prevent weeds, help shade the soil line, and maintain water in the soil.
Deep, regular watering.
If you want a green lawn all summer long, you must water consistently.. Rather than shallow watering every day, water your lawn deeply once or twice a week. One to one-and-a-half inches of water a week will keep your lawn green.
No Mow May is a national campaign to encourage people not to mow their lawns until the end of May in order to boost the flowers, and nectar, available to pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies and moths. It also allows spring flowers to set seed and plants to establish themselves in advance of the summer.
A longer grass blade will shade the ground underneath, keeping it cooler, meaning it won't dry our as quickly as when the lawn is mowed short. In other words, the lawn does not have to receive as much supplemental water. Reduces weed growth.
Going No-Mow
According to Prairie Nursery, not mowing the lawn at all will result in a turf with leaves that grow to about 6 inches in height and drape over one another.
Healthier Grass
A longer lawn means that the individual grass blades (the leaves) have more surface area for photosynthesis to occur.
You can take care of a brown lawn by limiting further stress on grass plants. Mow less often, or not at all, during a drought. If you do mow, set the mower height higher than normal at about 3 ½ inches.