The British gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh gave an expert tip for preparing your garden for spring. One thing that you want to get right is the lawn. Before you get the mower out, refer to its advice on the best length for cutting grass.
While talking about an episode of The Gardener’s Year – Early Spring, he gave some specific advice on the best length to mow your lawn. “The important thing is that you don’t cut off too much,” he says.
“It was about three inches tall, this grass, and I’ve only removed half of it. It’s still about an inch and a half there. It still has to feed on these leaves, so you have to leave it a bit. ‘
(Photo credit: Unsplash / Daniel Watson)
While it might be tempting to really give it a try when tending to overgrown gardens that haven’t been tended in a while, it’s important to leave around 1.5 inches for the lawn to continue growing.
“As the season progresses, you can lower the blades, but make sure there is always a good amount of green leaves on top,” says Alan. “Don’t cut into that yellow [part of the grass]. ‘
Gardener David Domoney, on the other hand, advises cutting grass to three inches so that it stays much longer than Alan’s 1.5 inches. The Royal Horticultural Society suggests a gradual, sparse, and frequent approach. ” When mowing for the first time in spring, set the cutting height to the highest level. Then gradually reduce the cutting height until the desired height is reached. For ordinary ornamental lawns this is 13-25 mm in summer. The RHS agrees that mowing too closely can weaken the grass: “Extremely low cuts can scalp the lawn and leave bare spots.”
Timing is crucial in preparing your garden for the warmer seasons, and waiting for the soil to dry out is important. There is absolutely no point in mowing the lawn when it is wet as it causes a myriad of problems and can also be dangerous.
Does frequent mowing thicken the grass?
In fact, mowing can help thicken the grass as it removes the tip of the blade of grass. The tips contain hormones that suppress horizontal growth. Regular pruning removes the hormones and allows the grass to spread. It can also make the grass more resilient.
(Photo credit: Greenworks)
So remember not to cut the lawnmower too deeply before taking it out, because even though it looks great, you can end up doing more harm than good.
