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Agree. Summer months in hot areas are ideal for as high as you can cut it. Now if you don't really have a "lawn", but more like all weeds, then cutting it as short as possible may seem appealing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dd714
Higher grass is better in withstanding drought conditions.
You can also damage grass if you mow it too short at one time relative to it's current length.
I loved to mow and cut mine to 5". Late summer, I would see my neighbors mowing with a big dust trail behind them while my grass was still lush and green.
Agree that it depends on where you live. I never had to water my lawn.
We water twice a week and our lawn looks amazing. Not sure what kind of weed problems everyone is talking about. We don't have a weed problem. Maybe it is location. Also year round temperature in my area is between low 60's to low 80's. Averages 72 degrees year round. We may have a dozen or so hot days a year where it gets into the low 80's. Every so often it will get hotter but that is not the norm. Warmer months are August thru October.
Totally depends on the season and the weather, and if things go dormant over the winter. In NC, 2.5 in works for the first couple of cuttings, then I go up to 3 for Bermuda. If I had fescue I'd go up to 3.5. In the summer if there is a dry spell, simply leave it alone. For the last cutting in the fall, I like to cut short again.
3.5 to 4 inches. Makes for a very lush lawn. I never, ever water the lawn. Forget the fact that the property is pretty big. I just think watering a lawn is a waste of a natural resource.
Higher grass is better in withstanding drought conditions.
You can also damage grass if you mow it too short at one time relative to it's current length.
I can attest to the damage that can be done if you cut too short. Towards the middle of last summer I cut our nicely greening grass too short (I changed the mower settings and did the deed myself) and it was all over. The grass we'd been nurturing all spring and summer quickly got overrun with clover and weeds within a couple weeks. We tried to battle back, but it was too late - the short cut ruined any chances the grass had to overcome the quicker-growing weeds.
Our mower is now set at the highest setting and I told my husband I would NEVER lower the blade again.
I'm not sure, but the guys who mow the lawn get it very short, nearly all the way to the ground. If I didn't have severe grass allergies I would do it myself.
I'm not sure, but the guys who mow the lawn get it very short, nearly all the way to the ground. If I didn't have severe grass allergies I would do it myself.
It so depends on the grass species how well they survive this. The growing point of grass is near the ground, but in some species it is a little stretched out, so more sensitive to being whacked off. Plus shading of the growing point by the grass leaves is more critical in some species than in others.
My Toro mower has 5 height settings...I set it in either the middle or one more to the longer side. Except for the first mowing of the season, where I had to set it at the highest because it was so long!
I never water my grass. It stays green all summer.
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