The most common mistake most people make is mowing their lawn too short. The general rule to follow is not to cut more than one third of the leaf surface off at once. Usually mowing once a week will comply with this guideline, however during peak growth you may need to mow every four or five days. General mowing height recommendation is 3 inches.

Keep your mower blades sharp! Check the tips of the blades of grass after you mow, if they are frayed your mower blades need to be sharpened. Frayed tips indicate that the grass plant has been injured which increases the possibility of insect or disease problems.

During the hot summer months remember: never mow mid-day when the sun is at its hottest!

The lawn is already stressed and mowing can cause significant damage. Every year we see many brown, striped, injured lawns because of this.

Should you mulch or pick up clippings? If you mow regularly it’s best to allow the grass clippings to remain on the lawn. The decomposed clippings will decompose within six weeks and add valuable nutirents to the soil. However do not leave heavy or large clumps of clippings on the lawn. Better to bag them if the lawn has not been mowed regularly and is longer than usual.

A good rule of thumb is that a lawn requires an inch of water per week. This doesn’t mean you can put down one seventh of an inch per day, the watering should soak in to a depth of five or six inches. In the hot summer when temperatures soar most lawns require about two inches of water per week to keep actively growing. If you can walk across the lawn and leave footprints in the grass, it needs water.

The best time to water is early in the morning when there is generally less wind and heat. We do not recommend night watering as the grass often remains wet which encourages disease development.