I get it, I get it – if you’ve spent as much time as most gardeners do pruning, planting and perfecting your lawn, you’ll want it to look as neat as possible. And for many, that involves mowing it super short.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) recommends you mow weekly or fortnightly between March and October to keep lawns neat and in good condition, adding that “as well as improving the look of a lawn, regular mowing helps to eliminate unwanted weeds and encourage denser turf”.
And while many find mowing incredibly satisfying, it turns out you can have too much of a good thing.
First came the news that cutting your grass too often in a heatwave can endanger your lawn, leading it to dry out. And now, it seems that there’s a right – and a very wrong – height to set your mower to, as well.
Steve Williams, the owner of Mowers Online, recently told The Daily Express that cutting too close to the soil can uproot your grass, preventing it from growing back healthily – or even at all.
Here’s how mowing too close can ruin your garden’s gains – and the correct height to set your mower to.
Cutting too close can ‘scalp’ your lawn
Remember that root removal we were talking about earlier? Yeah, well it turns out it’s called “scalping” your lawn (ouch). It can be especially damaging during bouts of hot weather.
“Lawn scalping can occur when the mower height is set too low, or when you go over a high spot in the grass. The resulting yellow-brown area is almost devoid of grass. This can lead to some turf problems and is decidedly visually unappealing,” shared Gardening Know-How.
It happens because “those exposed roots dry out quickly, are more susceptible to weed seeds and disease, and cannot produce any photosynthetic energy”.
Basically, your extra-cropped grass can’t thrive if it’s not got enough height to cover its delicate roots.
It doesn’t just happen because your mower blade is set too low, either.
“Scalping” can happen as a result of uneven ground or blunt or rusty mower blades.
Still, the best advice remains to keep your mower blade well above the ground.
“Keep your mowing height by at least three inches high, you can prevent the roots from being pulled up by the mower. They will have protection to grow deeper, and your soil is less likely to dry out,” Williams told The Daily Express.
Other grass-cutting advice from pros includes:
- Waiting until any new grass is at least two inches tall to start cutting,
- Not cutting your lawn in the middle of the day,
- Keeping your mower blades sharp and clean,
- Cutting narrower strips with a hover mower so the blades don’t become clogged.
Happy gardening!