Lawn-care pros cringe at how homeowners often cut their grass — way too short.
Scalping a lawn is bad news because it repeatedly reduces the vegetation that’s trying to build energy to fuel the roots and coerce them to grow deeper, not to mention allowing the soil underneath to heat and dry faster in summer.
Short grass also benefits the sprouting of weeds, which appreciate the increased sunlight and elbow room.
Pros recommend maintaining in-season grass height at about three to four inches.
There’s one time of the year, though, when the experts say it makes sense to go low instead of cut high, the last cut or two of the year.
The overriding reason is that shorter grass during the dormant season (winter) makes the lawn less prone to early-season lawn disease.
Gray snow mold and pink snow mold are two fairly common fungal diseases that grow under the protection of snow cover in winter. Pink snow mold also can grow during snow-free periods of cool, damp winter weather.
Both show up as matted-down patches of dead grass blades in late winter to early spring.
Fortunately, the grass crowns, from where new blades emerge, usually survive and go on to grow new grass, albeit with a little raking help from the lawn-owner to speed up the process.
Since both of these mold diseases favor damp and shaded conditions, one of the best ways to prevent them is by mowing the grass slightly shorter heading into winter.
That helps the lawn dry faster when it’s dormant and opens it to better sunlight penetration.
The lower mowing not only lessens the shading effect of the grass blades themselves but chops up fallen leaves and other organic debris that can contribute to trapping moisture over winter.
Cutting shorter doesn’t mean scalping. Going too low is a stress on the lawn, especially if the lawn is shortened drastically in one fell swoop.
An ideal height for the last cut of the season on the typical Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and/or fescue cool-season lawn is between two and two-and-a-half inches.
To avoid stressing the lawn without removing more than one-third of the blade height at a time (another good rule of thumb), shorten the height gradually over the last two or three mowings of the season.
If the additional clips are enough to make mats or channels that threaten to suffocate the remaining turfgrass, either bag them while mowing or rake them afterward. The combination of mowed leaves and grass clippings make an ideal mix for the compost bin.
Avoid mowing the lawn when the grass is wet, and make sure the blades are still sharp. Most mower manufacturers recommend sharpening mower blades every 25 hours.
One other potential benefit of cutting at this slightly lower height heading into winter is that it’s less inviting to voles that make surface tunnels in the lawn during winter.
Read George’s four most important tips on mowing the lawn
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