Maintaining a healthy, lush lawn is a point of pride for many homeowners. However, achieving and maintaining a beautiful lawn in Georgia requires proper knowledge of warm-season grasses. One of the most important aspects of lawn care is mowing your grass to the right height. In this article, we’ll explore why mowing your grass to the right height is so important and why you should avoid letting it get too tall and lanky.
If you purchased sod through Legacy Turf Farms, you can find the specific mowing height details for your specific grass variety by picking your sod from our Sod Types page! Comprehensive lawn care guides can also be found on the individual sod information pages.
How to Determine the Right Height to Mow Your Lawn
So, how do you determine the right height to mow your grass? The ideal height for mowing your lawn will depend on the type of grass you have. Different types of grass have different ideal mowing heights, so it’s important to research the type of grass you have and determine the appropriate height for mowing. In general, most types of warm season grasses can be mowed to a minimum height of around 1-2 inches with some exceptions (more on that later!).
Why Mowing Your Grass to the Right Height is Important
Mowing your grass to the right height is important for several reasons. First, it helps to promote healthy grass growth. When you mow your grass to the right height, you’re removing only the top portion (⅓, to be exact) of the grass blades, which allows the remaining blades to continue growing. This promotes healthy growth and helps to keep your lawn looking lush and green. Mowing on a regular schedule promotes lateral growth, or the side to side “filling in” that bermuda and zoysia are so famous for.
Second, mowing your grass to the right height can help to prevent weed growth. Mowing frequently keeps weeds in check. If you see visible weeds, of course you may choose to do a granular or liquid weed treatment if your sod has matured and has been installed for one year. But, mowing can also help eliminate weeds by removing the seed heads from the top of the weed. Bag your clippings to ensure you’re not spreading the weed seeds all over your lawn. By mowing your grass to the right height, you can help to prevent these bare spots and keep weeds at bay.
In the photo above: A mature zoysia lawn mowed at 1 inch. This homeowner mows every 5 days for incredible results!
When to Mow After New Sod
Two weeks have flown by after your sod was put down, and it’s already time for the first mow! You might be surprised to hear this so soon, but sod roots quickly during the growing season, typically within 3-7 days. By day 15, the sod has established its initial root system.
Mowing your new lawn serves two important purposes. First, it encourages the grass to grow sideways, filling in any gaps and seams between the sod pieces. Second, it signals to the grass that this is its permanent home, prompting it to continue putting down roots.
There are a couple of exceptions to this early mowing rule. If the current temperature is 50 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, hold off on mowing. Additionally, if the sod was already dormant when you installed it, wait until it starts actively growing before mowing.
Remember, your new lawn doesn’t have to reach 3 inches tall before the first cut. The key principle here is the “one-third rule.” When mowing, only remove the top third of the grass blade. Cutting more than this can stress the plants and leave unsightly burn marks.
Waiting longer than the recommended 2 weeks can have detrimental effects. You can risk the lawn getting too long and leggy, shading itself out and preventing sunlight from reaching the important food-producing parts of the plant (that thing called photosynthesis!). Not mowing for several weeks or months can also produce too thick of a thatch layer – which can prevent the sod from greening up again the following spring. The risks of not mowing are just too high to chance – and this is why we recommend keeping up with your mowing every 7 days during the spring and summer!
Mowing Frequency
As summer temperatures soar between 70 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, your warm-season lawn kicks into high gear. To keep it looking its best, consistency is key! We recommend mowing every 5-7 days for the average homeowner. This regular trimming encourages the grass to grow laterally, filling in any bare patches and keeping your lawn dense and lush. If you’re a lawn fanatic and crave that professional-looking finish, you can even up your mowing frequency to every 2-3 days. No matter which schedule you choose, the most important thing is to stick to it. Consistent mowing allows your warm-season grass to thrive, filling in gaps and maintaining a beautiful, healthy appearance.
Lawn Scalping
Many homeowners make the mistake of erring on the side of keeping their grass long. While in other regions scalping your lawn may cause problems; in our Georgia climate scalping your lawn can help. Scalping your lawn is the process of cutting the grass extremely short, usually to a height of 1 inch or ½ inch, at the very beginning of the growing season. This typically happens in early April or early May, or whenever ground temperatures are 70 and rising. While this may seem counterintuitive, there are actually a number of benefits to scalping your lawn, including:
Scalping your lawn can help to remove dead grass and other debris, which can block sunlight and prevent healthy growth. By cutting the grass short, you can also encourage new, more robust growth to emerge. Thatch is the layer of dead grass and other organic material that accumulates on the surface of your lawn over time. Scalping your lawn can help to break up this thatch layer, which can promote better water and nutrient absorption in the soil.
A scalped lawn can look neater and more uniform, especially if the grass is mowed in a pattern. This can improve the overall appearance of your property and make it more attractive to visitors. A shorter lawn is generally easier to maintain, as it requires less frequent mowing and can be more resistant to pests and disease.
Looking for a Super Short Lawn Grass?
Some grasses, like Legacy Turf’s Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass, can be safely mowed down to a height of 0.125 – 1.5 inches. This makes it the perfect choice for golf courses, sports fields, or for homeowners who prefer the look of a much shorter lawn. Plus, its quick recovery time means that Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass is a great choice for families with pets, active children, or lots of foot traffic across the lawn. Legacy Turf’s Geo Zoysia or Tifway 419 Bermuda is another varietal that can safely be mowed down to heights as short as 0.5 – 1.5 inches.
