Seven mowing mistakes that ruin a lawn
You can spoil a lawn with the mower alone: too short, a blunt blade, in the heat. The mistakes we see most often.
Mowing seems the simplest lawn care job, yet it is how lawns are most often ruined. Here are the mistakes we regularly see on clients’ plots.
Scalping “to the bone”
Wanting to mow less often leads to cutting at 2–3 cm. Result: grass loses strength, roots are exposed, moisture evaporates, and moss and weeds take over. Optimal height in our climate is 4–5 cm; in heat and drought 5–6 cm.
The one-third rule
Never remove more than a third of the height in one cut. If the lawn has grown to 12 cm, do not go straight to 4: first to 8, then a few days later to the target height.
A blunt blade
A blunt blade does not cut — it tears and shreds the stems. A day after mowing the tips go white and dry, and the lawn looks grey. Sharpen or replace the blade at least once a season.
Mowing in heat and on wet grass
In heat, cut grass loses moisture instantly and yellows: mow in the evening. Wet grass clogs the mower and cuts unevenly, and wheels leave ruts in soft soil.
The same route every time
Always mowing the same pattern packs paths with the wheels and trains the grass to lie one way. Change direction every cut.
Thick piles of clippings left behind
A thin layer of fine mulch is useful; thick heaps of cut grass rot and leave yellow patches.
No time to mow properly and regularly? Put the lawn on seasonal care: mowing, edges, fertilising — on schedule and without your involvement.