When it comes to lawn care, the best times to cut grass are during the evening hours. The Grounds Guys, a full-service grounds care, lawn care, and landscaping company, suggests cutting grass in the evening because the temperatures tend to be cooler and the roots will retain moisture.
Mid-morning (between 8 and 10 a.m.) tends to be the best time of day for mowing your lawn. It allows enough time for dew to dry, resulting in strong, perky blades of grades, while avoiding the hottest periods of the day.
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.
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.
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.
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.
60% of weeds in any lawn can be controlled with proper, weekly mowing. 60%!! You cannot rely on herbicide applications completely, weekly mowing HAS to be part of your plan to control weeds. So, let me reiterate…the presence of weeds in your lawn is NEVER a good reason to skip a mow.
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.
When grass is too dry. There's nothing wrong with mowing your turf in a drought, but there are some changes that need to be made to minimize the chance of damage. Raise your mower's deck height by a half of an inch when grass is drought stressed, as thirsty grass will grow at a slower rate.
Mowing wet grass, even dewy grass, does damage to your lawn as well. Rather than getting a clean cut on each grass-blade, you'll tear the grass which opens a door to fungus which can kill your lawn.
One valuable tip is that mowing during the hottest time of day on a drought-stressed lawn is one of the worst things you can do.
'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.
How often should you mow? Normally, weekly mowing is the rule, but some lawns need cutting more often. Other lawns will grow more slowly and might need cutting only once every ten days or two weeks. Generally, don't cut off more than one third of the grass blade.
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.
Once grass starts to grow again, it's okay to mow with your mower set to 3 ½ inches. Do not scalp the lawn to try to remove brown blades of grass. Let new fresh grass grow around them. Leave grass clippings on the lawn to fertilize the lawn naturally.
So, an easy way to determine if your lawn is too dry is to take a screwdriver with a 6-inch shaft and push it into the ground. If you can drive it in easily your lawn in hydrated, if you cannot push it in easily or all the way, your lawn is dehydrated.
The simple answer to this question is NO. Allowing your grass to grow too long between cutting creates lawn care problems that no homeowner wants to deal with.
Mowing the lawn when it's wet will not only damage the turf, but also cause the clippings to clump, which can spread diseases and weeds throughout the yard. Wait until your lawn has dried out before giving it a chop to avoid these unwanted problems.
While wet grass alone may not dull a mower blade, its slick surface certainly doesn't make the cutting process easier. And if left to sit on the blade, the saturated clippings could cause rust and an early demise to metal mower parts such as the blade.
Taller grass -- 3 to 4 inches -- grows deep roots that absorb water and nutrients efficiently, collects more life-giving sunlight and shades or crowds out many weeds. No, you won't have to mow more often. But when you do, leave the clippings on the lawn to return moisture and nutrients to the grass.
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.
WEED TAKEOVER
A healthy, thick lawn that is between 3-4 inches tall shades weed seeds so they die out before they can germinate. The few weed seeds that are able to germinate are quickly smothered so they are unable to get a toe-hold in your lawn.
Weeds compete with grass for space, nutrients and water. Many weeds grow much faster than turfgrass and can quickly get out of control if measures are not taken to stop them. At the very least, they detract from the quality and appearance of your lawn.