Grass Height
How To Maintain The Proper Grass Height
The grass height you maintain in your lawn is important, not only from the standpoint of appearance, but for the general health of the lawn as well. To determine what heights are best, there are a couple of rules of thumb you can apply. One is,"longer is better", the other, "the one-third rule". While these two rules basically answer the question, you'll really want to go deeper into the subject, if for no other reason than to know why these rules apply.
"Longer is better" means that longer grass blades have more area, and can provide more nutrients to the root system. The longer blades will also help to keep the root system moist and cool. For that reason, it's best to set the cutting height higher during the hotter summer months. The one-third rule, simply gives you a definition of what we mean by "long" or "short". If, when mowing the grass, you are only cutting off the top third of the blades, you're probably doing things about right.
Of course, if you take "longer is better" to the extreme, that says your lawn will be healthiest if you never mow it. That isn't quite what is meant! The rule really applies to mower settings, and grass height during hot weather. The problem with the one-third rule is, besides your having to get down on your hands and knees to measure things, if the frequency of your mowing changes, or the rate of growth of the grass changes, the one-third rule starts to get a little complicated. What was the right length last week might not be correct this week. What is happening is that you are now beginning to split hairs, when all you really want to do is cut your grass to a height that makes sense.
On occasion you'll run into a period of wet weather, the grass will start to get away from you, and your height maintenance plan has suddenly gone out the window. The best way to handle this is to apply the one-third rule the best you can, for example, cutting 6" back to 4", and then do a second mowing a little later, to eventually get the lawn down to the height you want. Keep the rules in mind though. You can apply them to the following data below, to determine what's best for your own lawn and grass type.
Warm season grasses such as Bahia grass, St. Augustine grass, and Buffalo grass, along with cool season Tall Fescue is best left at a height of between 2' and 3". Common Bermuda grass can be cut shorter, to a length of 1" to 1 1/2”, and hybrid Bermuda grass shorter still, 1/2" to 1". Kentucky Bluegrass, Ryegrass, and Fine Fescue, all cool season grasses, do well at 1 -1/2" to 2". During hot weather, let these types grow longer, from 2.5" to 3".
Or, if you really want to take a laid back approach, cut the grass at around 2" most of the time, a bit longer in mid-summer, and get on with the rest of your life.