Lawn Care  

Mowing is the most important factor in lawn care. It is the turf management procedure that is done most often during the growing season. 

Improper mowing can seriously diminish the results of a good landscape management program. 

MOWING: encourages growth by stimulating bud development and tillering (growth from the base), which produces a thick dense turfgrass 
 

Here are the most important factors  
about mowing, in order of importance: 

Keep your mower blade sharp. A dull blade will shred the grass leaves. That also makes the plant more susceptible to heat, drought and disease problems. 
  Never cut more then one-third of the blade at any cutting. When your bluegrass/fescue lawn gets to 4-½" tall, cut it down to 3". If it gets 6" tall and you are cutting half the blade, it is a shock to the root system. This makes the grass more susceptible to drought, disease and insect problems.
  Keep your bluegrass/fescue lawn at a 2-½" - 3" cutting height (3" is preferred). 

During dry weather, try to water the day before mowing. This will help prevent shredded grass leaves when cutting. The damage is already done if you wait until after you mow to water. 

Common grasses such as the fescues, bluegrasses, and turf- type perennial ryegrasses should be cut at a height of 2 - 3 inches). Cutting these grasses shorter than this may cause an invasion of weeds. Be careful when mowing around trees and flower beds so as not to scalp the turf. As a general rule of thumb, do not remove more than 1/3 of the leaf area when mowing. Mowing, too frequently, weakens the plant by reducing its carbohydrate reserves, and making it less able to compete with the weeds. Mowing is also beneficial because it gets rid of annual weeds and eliminates their seed production.