3 Good Reasons Why You Should Mow Your Lawn Regularly

Whether you cut your grass yourself or have your lawn professionally maintained, it’s essential to mow your lawn regularly to keep it in good condition and have a lush green lawn.

How Often Should I Mow My Lawn In Brisbane?

Grass grows at different rates depending on the climate. In Brisbane and similar warmer climates, your mowing frequency depends on the weather conditions and time of year. Hot, humid days make grass grow quickly, whereas our winter months are mild and grass growth slows.

For much of the year in Brisbane, fortnightly mowing will suffice. But during the hot, humid Summer months in Brisbane, for the best lawn, you should mow your lawn every week to keep it looking its best. In Winter, you can reduce mowing frequency to once every three to four weeks, depending on the weather.

Recommended Mowing Frequency in Brisbane

One-third Rule

Another way to tell if your lawn needs mowing is the height of the grass. The one-third rule is a good way to know if your grass needs mowing. It simply means you should only remove a third of the grass height per mowing session.

Removing more than one third of the grass blade will impair root system growth as your grass diverts its energy to repairing the grass tips. As a result, this will slow down the rate of growth and affects the health of your lawn.

Even if you have an overgrown lawn, the one-third rule still applies. Cut grass on your highest setting. Then a few days later reduce the height a little more, and repeat until your lawn is the right height.

For best results on very overgrown lawns, slash tall grass, wait a few days before mowing on your highest setting, and gradually reduce the height every few days until the optimal height is achieved. Then, it’s a good idea to mow your lawn once a week for a while. Regular mowing will encourage grass growth and promote a healthy lawn.

On the flip side, mowing your lawn too short stresses it, making it prone to pests and diseases, encourages weed growth, and requires more frequent watering in hot weather conditions.

Ideal Height Of Common Types Of Grass In Brisbane

The two most common types of grass in Brisbane are couch and buffalo grass.

Couch Grass

The type of grass that is most common in Brisbane is couch grass. The two most common varieties of couch in Brisbane are Winter Green Couch and Queensland Blue Couch. Couch has a soft, fine leaf with a pointed tip. It grows quickly in warm weather conditions and requires frequent mowing. The best height for couch grass is between 20mm and 40mm.

Buffalo Grass

Buffalo grass has a much thicker blade than the couch and is more tolerant of shade. The most well-known buffalo grass in Brisbane is Sir Walter. The optimal height for soft leaf buffalo lawns should be kept between 50mm and 65 mm. If the mowing height is much shorter, a buffalo lawn will become light green or yellow, and have stunted growth, reducing the density of the thatch.

Why You Should Mow Your Lawn Regularly

Here are our top three reasons why your lawn needs mowing regularly.

1. Improves Street Appeal & Increases Your Property’s Value

They say first impressions count, and your lawn is one of the first things people notice about your property. Having a beautiful lawn can improve the look and feel of your property. It also gives the impression that your home is well maintained.

This is never more important when selling your home, as buyers will assume that your house maintenance is as good as your lawn maintenance. Having a neat, tidy, lush green lawn can attract more buyers to your home and may increase your property value by twenty percent or more!

2. Healthy Lawn

Regular lawn mowing stimulates grass growth, leaving no room for weeds to take over, and making your lawn less susceptible to pests and diseases. It also encourages lateral root growth, making your lawn thicker.

Keeping grass at the right height also means a constant flow of nutrients to your grass. In addition, overgrown lawns prevent the sun from getting to grass that is closest to the soil, causing your lawn to die off underneath.

If you have a mulching mower, grass clippings are cut small enough so they fall through your grass to the soil surface. The smaller clippings break down quickly and provide a natural nitrogen fertilizer for your lawn. Mulch mowing also reduces evaporation of moisture from the soil and keeps the soil temperature cooler.

3. Quicker & Easier To Maintain

An overgrown lawn is time-consuming to get back into shape. If you’re paying for lawn mowing, infrequent services could see you spending more in the long run and the health of your lawn may suffer.

Even if you haven’t let your lawn get entirely out of control, it’s going to take longer to mow.

Pushing a mower through long grass is difficult. If you try pushing a mower through grass that is too long, the blades can stop rotating, stalling, and damaging the engine.

Taking off too much grass leaf at once can stress your lawn and cause it to die off. The best practice is to only remove one-third of the leaf at a time, then wait a few days and mow again. You’ll need to repeat this process until your grass is back to its optimal height.