The Lawncare Guide - March

Know your lawn and how to cut it 

With relatively mild weather in our area, the grass had already started into growth in February. This month most areas can expect strong growth and the tendency is to get out and give it a good haircut. But if you have been reading the Gardener’s Journal for a while you will know you need to start with a high cut and gradually lower with successive mowing.

Let us take a step further and say you also need to consider the type of grass being cut. Most of us have leisure or utility grass and some may have ornamental lawns. They need different treatment but have one thing in common. Grass needs mowing a little at a time. The aim should be to remove a third of the available leaf each time you mow. This leaves the majority of the leaf intact to allow photosynthesis to turn compounds such as water into food for growth. Taking off two thirds or more exposes the grass plant to disease attack. It becomes weaker, thinner and yellow. 

Next, consider your type of grass. The following are not hard and fast rules, because it depends on your location, the weather and the extent of growth but here is a guide. Leisure grass in summer should have a 15-20mm cut height and be mowed every three to four days. Utility grass summer cut height is 25mm every six or seven days. Ornamental grass should be mowed every two to three days and have a summer cut height of 5-10mm. 

Over the next three months reduce the cutting height slowly until you reach the height for summer cutting. As winter approaches, you start raising the height again.