Lawn Mowing Heights

Deciding On Lawn Mowing Heights

Choosing the correct lawn mowing height for lawns is essential to the ongoing health and appearance of the turf. Many factors can come into play, and we’ll cover those in this article. In reality, once we can grasp the very basic principles involved, it’s a very simple decision to make and vital to our ongoing lawn care.

Available Sunlight

Direct sunlight is a critical factor with all lawns, sunlight directly powers the photosynthesis process, which converts nutrients into food for the lawn.

When direct sunlight is reduced to our lawns, the leaf material must be left higher so that more photosynthesis can occur under the conditions of reduced sunlight hours, this is also why lawns must be cut higher during the Winter months.

Alternatively, if our lawn is constantly in full sunlight, the lawn mowing height can be reduced, and still maintain the lawn in good health. If left too high with too much green leaf material, a lawn in full sunlight, will speed up its food conversion, and grow at a faster rate, possibly needing more frequent mowing, or causing a build up of excessive thatch.

Lawn Watering

With droughts and water restrictions often a high consideration across Australia, many lawns can be left the worse for wear under trying conditions. Lawn mowing heights can also help with the maintenance and lawn care during these times when water availability is scarce.

A lawn cut too short, will reduce the ability of the lawn to photosynthesise and create food while under stressful conditions.

If we raise the lawn mowing height, this longer lawn leaf then protects and shades the soil from drying out even further – acting as an insulating barrier for the moisture still in the soil, in turn. Which in turn allows the soil to hold onto its moisture levels for longer, ingthus support the life of the lawn for longer under low water conditions.

So as soon as drought or other low water conditions hit – our first response is to raise the lawn mowing height immediately, and to keep the lawn leaf longer for as long as these conditions last. While the lawn may not look as good with a longer leaf sometimes – this is of course far preferred than the opposite – of having a dead or brown lawn because of drought. This practice may not stop our lawn from dying off under extreme conditions – but it will so greatly aid the lawn to resist drought conditions the best.

Lawn Mowing Heights Summary

While it is impossible to give exact mowing heights in this article, the first place to start when choosing a lawn mowing height is to find out more about the turf variety and its preferred mowing heights. If these heights work, do no more. If mowing heights need to be peaked or adjusted, the factors covered in this article will be a great start in refining the needs of our lawn and improving our overall lawn care.