Lawn Mowing Guide

Regularly mowing your lawn promotes vertical growth and lateral density; it also provides the manicured look you desire. However, not all grass types are mowed at the same height, so you need to know your lawn type and what it requires.

Mowing Height

Many people choose to pick a lawn height and mow their lawns at this same height year-round. However, a better option is to vary heights at different times of the year.

The idea behind altering your mowing heights is to start and finish the mowing season with shorter grass, but to let it grow a bit taller during the hottest times of the year (June–August). This is to promote root growth, keep more moisture in the grass and aid in times of drought conditions.

Check out the table below for more details as to what heights work best with differing grass varieties.

Mowing Height by Grass Type

St. Augustine

Between 2–4 inches

Zoysia (fine)

Between 0.5–1.5 inches

Zoysia (coarse)

Between 1–2 inches

Bermuda Grass

Between 0.5–1.5 inches

Centipede Grass

Between 1.5–2 inches

Bluegrass

Between 2.5–3.5 inches

Tall Fescue

Between 2.5–3.5 inches

For more information on the different mowing heights by grass type, visit our Homeowner Maintenance Guides for bermuda grass, bluegrass, fescue, St. Augustine or zoysia. Each Homeowner Maintenance Guide is broken down into sections for spring maintenance, summer maintenance and fall maintenance. If you have a newly installed lawn, mowing practices slightly differ. Read When to Mow a Newly Installed Lawn for more information.

Mowing Frequency & Consistency

Because most of us are weekend warriors, we tend to mow our lawns either weekly or every other week. Whatever you choose, try to remain consistent.

If you are not able to periodically maintain this schedule (rain, vacation, broken lawn mower, etc.), and your lawn gets really tall, you will want to avoid removing more than 1/3 of the leaf blade in one mowing.

This will stress your lawn and make it go brown for a short time. Instead, you will want to mow multiple times (wait about three to five days between mowing) to get the grass back down to the desired height.

Mulching

If you have a mulching lawn mower, you should make use of it. Mulching provides free organic material for your lawn and saves you the hassle of bagging. However, mulching may require weekly mowing.

Because grass grows more in late spring and summer, you will be removing more cuttings at this time of year. A weekly mowing and mulching schedule will allow the cutting to be incorporated into your lawn seamlessly.

Mulching every other week in the late spring and summer may result in excess cuttings sitting on top of your lawn, which can be unsightly.

Maintain your lawn with these tools:

When mowing your lawn throughout the year, it is important to keep the lawn mower blade sharp so that it neatly slices through the grass instead of “whacking” it. When a dull blade is cutting your grass, it is actually ripping and pulling the grass blades, which leaves tears that weaken the plant and leaves the grass more vulnerable to disease. Read more about this in How to Sharpen Your Lawn Mower Blade. Winterizing Your Lawn Mower may also be a good read if this article interested you as it discusses yearly maintenance practices to keep your lawn mower in good shape. Be sure to also keep your lawn well nourished with Lawnifi®. Lawnifi is broken down into three seasonal fertilizer boxes—each containing three bottles of fertilizer for the season. You can buy them in separate boxes or save money by purchasing the Complete Program 9 Bottle Annual Fertilizer Subscription. Make sure you apply fertilizer to your lawn after you mow so that your grass has a few days to absorb the fertilizer. Learn more about Lawnifi at Lawnifi.com or by reading Why Use Lawnifi Fertilizer?.