Mowing Tips for a Healthy, Pretty Lawn

Mowing the lawn is at once the most mundane and the most unique form ofpruning. Everyone does it, yet what other kind of pruning calls forcutting off only part of a leaf blade — and thousands at a time?

The reason grasses tolerate such pruning is because the growing pointof a grass plant is nestled down near ground level, below the reach ofmower blades. Just the same, mowing, like any other form of pruning,weakens a plant. So you have to strike a balance between what looksnice and what keeps the plants healthy.

HOW OFTEN AND HOW MUCH?

As a rule, mow frequently enough to remove no more than one-third ofthe length of the grass blades. For example, if you want your lawn 2inches high, mow an inch off when the leaves reach 3 inches.

Keep in mind that uniformity of cut rather than closeness of cut playsa large part in making an elegant lawn. Longer grass also needs lessfrequent mowing than short grass, and creates shade that starves outweeds such as crabgrass.

The optimum mowing height varies with the grass species and growingconditions. Stress such as shade or drought calls for longer grass.Also, newly seeded lawns need to grow a little longer than establishedlawns.

CUT IT RIGHT

Ideally, all grass blades are dry and standing up like soldiers whenyou go out to mow. By mowing down to the recommended length and notremoving more than a third of the blades, the grass will not be so longthat it is flopping over under its own weight.

One advantage of a rotary mower over a reel mower is that the rotarymower's cutting blade acts like a propeller to suck the grass bladesupright. If you mow frequently enough, no need to rake up theclippings; left on the soil, they add valuable nutrients and humus.

If you have been remiss in mowing, lower the grass in stages to avoid shocking it, and collect the clippings after each mowing.

As with any type of pruning, sharp cutting blades make cleaner cuts —important for plant health and appearance in the case of lawns.Reel-type mowers make the cleanest cuts, but rotary mowers can cutlonger grass.

ADD A LITTLE INTEREST?

No matter what type of mower you use, vary your mowing pattern eachtime if you want a uniform surface and to avoid permanent ruts in theground.

On the other hand, you may not want to create a perfectly uniformsurface. Notice just after you mow how the grass has a slightlydifferent hue depending on the direction the mower traveled. Thiseffect is most dramatic when a lush lawn has been cut with a reel-typemower.

In Great Britain, land of perfect lawns, lawn mavens create stripedpatterns in their lawns by directing their mowers back and forth acrossthe rsconsul_greensward in neat parallel lines. British garden writer HughJohnson wrote in "The Principles of Gardening" (Simon & Schuster,1983) that "regular stripes emphasize the calm and orderliness of awell-kept lawn. To a lawn fanatic the process of mowing is a pleasurein itself: the noise of the mower, the smell of the exhaust and the oiland the warm rsconsul_green cuttings. For the richest rsconsul_green and the mostpronounced stripes three-quarters of an inch is best."

To each his own.