A garden expert has revealed the few weeks when you should do your last lawn cut before winter arrives. Brits would have been busy mowing their lawns between spring and autumn. However, the Met Office predicts quite a cold and rough winter ahead, so many households are trying their best to prepare their lawns for harsher conditions as they recover from a blistering summer of heatwaves. You might be wondering when is best to stop mowing your lawn, and a garden expert has given her advice.
There are several reasons why mowing your lawn in winter isn’t a good idea. One of them is to do with the frost which forms on blades of grass, which can make them brittle and prone to snapping. Additionally, it reduces the surface level of the grass, therefore decreasing its chances of photosynthesising. An expert has pinpointed the end of October and/or the beginning of November as the last time to mow lawns, leaving British gardeners about three weeks to get this job done before it’s too late.
Gardening expert Lucie Bradley said: “Grass grows best when soil and air temperatures are above 6°C – usually March to November. Once it drops below 10°C, growth slows dramatically, so late October or early November is the time for your final cut.”
A survey from David Wilson Homes revealed that one in five homeowners never change how often they mow, regardless of season. This means that a fifth of British homeowners risk damaging their lawns by continuing to mow them throughout winter.
Instead, they should stop mowing by the beginning of next month and leave their lawns alone until March next year, when conditions improve and lawns spring back to health. Cold weather halts grass growth, so it is best to avoid mowing altogether.
If you mow your lawn in winter, it can lead to serious damage. Lucie explained that this can compact the soil and suffocate the roots, which will affect your grass’s health and ability to grow from spring onwards.
In spring, gardeners should mow their lawns around every two weeks. This typically increases in summer, when gardeners usually mow their lawns every week or so. However, during a drought or a heatwave, you should avoid cutting your grass. The plants are already under a lot of stress during periods of such intense weather.
In autumn, you should typically reduce the frequency of your mowing back down to once every two weeks.
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