Lawn Mower Cutting Heights

For many homeowners, cutting the lawn is a tedious chore where one just pushes the mower over the grass but there is a lot more to it than that. First of all, different types of grass grow to different lengths at different speeds in different seasons and mowing may needed at several varying intervals. Also the cutting height of the lawn can be very important to how healthy the grass looks and continues to grow. Many lawn mowers have various settings for cutting heights and this comes in very handy for proper mowing. There are several different types of grass that grow to various heights and should be cut only a certain length for maximum potential. A rule of thumb is to cut the grass about 1/3 of the maximum height of the lawn to allow clippings to decompose faster. Cutting the grass to short can also hamper healthy growth and can lead to scalping of the grass which results in patchy areas.

Because there are different types of grass used all across the world, there are optimal heights for each of these grasses. Using the 1/3 rule, this means that for a warm-season grass like Bermuda that has an optimum height of around 1 to 2 inches, when the overall length of the grass is 1/3 over 2 inches, it is time to mow the lawn. This rule can be used with the other grasses and their optimum heights as well. Below is a chart of some of the popular grasses used for lawns and some possible heights for great looking lawns and by adding 1/3 to this height will show when the grass should be cut.