You wake up at o’early on Saturday morning to the sun streaming through the cracks in your blinds and the birds merrily chirping outside your window. The air is warm, and the temperature is practically perfect, but you know it is only a matter of a few hours before the humid, sticky air is in full force. You think about rolling over, pulling the covers over your head, and trying to find dreamland again, but just like that, a flash of your lawn with grass ten feet tall flicks through your mind. You know you have to mow that lawn today, but it’s the last thing you really feel like doing. You reluctantly climb out of bed and throw on your work clothes and trudge to the kitchen for your wake-up coffee.

As you sit there sipping the last of the delicious cup-o-joe, you finally convince yourself that you can almost hear that lawn growing, and make your way to the carport to pull out the mower. You set the blade to its highest setting knowing that you don’t want to chop those blades any shorter than 3 inches. What? You were not aware of that fact? Well, it’s true! There are several reasons why you should take care to follow this rule including:

  • It will increase your lawn’s moisture and nutritional demands because it will try to grow faster to reach its normal length. This will actually make it necessary to mow a lot more often.
  • It will not allow your lawn to make as much chlorophyll which is needed to fuel the roots. The longer that your grass blades remain, the more chlorophyll will be available to maintain
  • fuller, healthier grass.
  • It will allow the soil to dry out faster which imitates the effects of a drought and causes the grass to go dormant and turn brown.
  • It will allow weeds to germinate better and spread faster throughout your yard.

So, you see, in the long run, keeping your lawn at a 3 inch level allows your grass to be at its optimal performance level, and allows you to mow less frequently. A lawn that is maintained at this level will be full, lush, and have healthy, strong roots.

Another important aspect of mowing the lawn is knowing how often you should mow. It is important that you never cut off more than one-third of the blade. An evenly cut lawn is what gives you that great look, not necessarily the length. You need to think of mowing as pruning and not cutting. Every time your grass is cut it is injured. The shorter the grass, the more stressed it becomes which can lead to the grass entering its dormant stage and turning brown.

As a general rule of thumb, you should mow two to three times a week during the fastest growing season of spring. During summer months, you only need to mow once a week on average, and in fall once every other week will typically due. Of course, these are general guidelines and you will need to monitor your grass closely to determine a personalized schedule.

Lastly, when you mow your lawn at regular intervals and keep it at 3 inches, you can leave your clippings where they fall. Leaving the rake tucked in the storage shed will save tons of time and energy! There will be no huge clumps of grass or such a large volume that the clippings block the sun causing yellowing. The clippings can also add up to one-third of the nitrogen needed by your lawn to stay healthy and happy. No matter how you look at it; it’s a win win situation for you!

If you're looking a lawn that needs some TLC, the South Florida lawn care specialists here at Hoffer Pest Solutions are ready to safely and effectively treat the pests and diseases that affect lawns in our region. Give us a call to learn more about our lawn care programs or click here to schedule a free estimate.

Serving Dania Beach, Davie and all of Broward County as well as Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, Hoffer Pest Solutions is ready to help you manage your lawn.

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