By allowing it to grow longer, and letting flowers bloom, your lawn can provide nectar and pollen to help your bee neighbors thrive. Mowing less creates habitat and can increase the abundance and diversity of wildlife including bees and other pollinators.
Your HOA might send a letter to the offending neighbor warning him or her to fix the problem or face fines. Or the HOA might take care of the problem and then bill the homeowner. If your neighbor won't mow his or her lawn, get rid of the junk outside, or let you help tidy up, you can always call your local government.
No Mow May claims to be less work for you in the month of May. Although that is true (because the intention is not to mow for a month), it can often result in more long-term effort in trying to reign in your turfgrass in the after-effects.
For most grasses, a height beyond 3 inches is problematic. At this height and beyond, it is difficult for long grass to hold itself up. This causes it to droop onto surrounding grass, smothering it. When long grass droops, it also traps moisture in lower areas, which can cause fungus and disease to spread.
Letting the plants grow a bit unruly, especially if you have a lawn, is actually a big help for insect wildlife. The mini jungle created by long grass gives them a safe haven to hide in, and if there are wildflowers in there, it's good for bees too.
Taller grass also shades the ground, slowing weed growth and water loss from the soil. The ideal length of your lawn depends on your climate, but most experts agree you should keep your grass between 2 1/2 inches to three inches long, with the last cut of the season remaining the same.
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.
Mowing wet lawns increases the risk of rut damage, since the soil is softer and more slippery for mowers, and the grass roots can more easily be torn out by the mower tires.
By not mowing, the longer grass can create more ideal habitats for beneficial insects to live and eat. Not cutting your lawn also allows what are often considered weedy plants like dandelion, clover and little violets to actually flower and be a source of food for bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
Weed Management. Frequent mowing helps to keep your lawn at just the right height. Depending on the type of grass your lawn has, this could be maintained anywhere between 2"-3" in length. Making sure your lawn stays at this height protects the soil from overexposure from the sun.
The primary purpose of mowing a lawn is to improve its appearance. Proper mowing technique, equipment, frequency and height of cut will improve the quality of a lawn while also increasing the health of the turfgrass plants and decreasing weeds.
However, be mindful that mowing too close to nightfall (between 6 and 8 p.m.) will not give your grass enough time to recover, making your lawn more susceptible to fungus and turf disease. It's recommended to avoid cutting your grass in the early morning and midday.
While participating in “No Mow May” won't provide a quality food source to pollinators, it will provide cover for unwanted pests, such as rodents, ticks, and mosquitoes, all of which are known to carry harmful diseases that can be transmitted to humans and pets.
If the grass is too wet, you shouldn't mow and if it's too dry you shouldn't either. Remember, mowing is a stressful event for your lawn. If you mow when it's already under stress, such as during dry spell or drought, then it will become even more stressed. You don't like to be stressed and neither does your poor lawn.
However, most professional gardeners would agree that between 8 AM and 10 AM is the best time of day to cut your grass. The reason for that is that lawns need time to heal before evening. Grass needs the benefit of the day to dry and heal before dusk settles.
The weather is one variable landscape professionals cannot control and can make things difficult. We often get the call from some of our customers wondering why we are mowing grass in the rain. The answer is pretty simple: “BECAUSE WE HAVE TO”, not necessarily because we want to.
Healthier Grass
A longer lawn means that the individual grass blades (the leaves) have more surface area for photosynthesis to occur.
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.
Once established, No Mow is a slow growing, low maintenance lawn for large or small landscapes.
Cut your lawn to possibly the shortest height you have all season. The ideal height is around 2 1/2 inches. Cut it too low and the grass might not be long enough to photosynthesize and provide nutrients to the roots. Too high and the frost might become matted after a snowfall.
Cool-season grasses should typically be cut to about 3 to 4 inches high. Warm-season grasses should typically be cut to about 2 to 2 ½ inches high. The common cool-season grasses include fine and tall fescue grass, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass.
The mowing height range for most grasses is between 1.5 and 3 inches. In general, for most lawns 2 to 2.5 inches is optimum because if you are mowing at 3 inches, your lawn may grow to 5 or 6 inches before you mow it again. Here are some problems associated with letting your grass grow too long: Lawn thinning.