The mowing height that will transform the health of your lawn

When you pay attention to the height of cut, you are paying attention to detail and perfection. Getting the grass blade at the optimum point is a masterful task as the mower must be perfectly calibrated and sharpened. In this greenkeepedia entry we will explain what is necessary to take care of the perfect cut.

When thinking about mowing, it is very important to know the surface and to work towards the right target. And what are the factors that affect that target:

• Species
• Use
• Abiotic factors such as water availability, temperature and general climatology or soil type
• Biotic factors, such as pressure from disease, pests o phenological stage of the plant
• Type of machinery available

The cutting height is determined by biotic and abiotic factors.

Each species arranges its physiology differently. A key point in determining cutting height is to establish the height of its crown. For example, species such as Festuca arundinacea have a high crown and will suffer from being cut too low. On the other hand, species such as Bentgrass (Agrostis palustris) or Bermuda (Cynodon dactylon) have a crown close to the ground and work well at low altitudes.

Every lawn tolerates a different height. If this height is not respected, the lawn will suffer or its carpet-like appearance will be impaired.

Grass is not cut for all uses in the same way, for example, a green uses a low-necked species such as agrostis stolonifera to be cut as low as possible. On the other hand, a domestic lawn should take into account that by cutting it a little higher, the plant will have more reserves to face inclement weather, greater accessibility to water and will develop more powerful roots without too much care.

Abiotic factors such as climate, light incidence or temperature are key in deciding at what height to cut the grass. In shady areas, leaving the grass a little higher allows for more area. photosynthetically active to compensate for less sunshine. The varieties C3 in summer they can be cut higher so that the blades shade each other and create a cooler atmosphere. And C4 grass in summer can be mowed very low to slow down its growth and avoid excessive mowing. The phenological condition of the plant is also important. A newly seeded lawn or a lawn recovering from disease will need to be higher than a mature lawn to encourage root growth and establishment on the surface.

The decision of the cutting height is really important and will certainly define the quality of the grassland.

Surfaces with a mowing height of more than 8 cm are difficult to maintain a meadow appearance as internal shadows are created which cause the plants to accumulate in rosettes. This is why the appearance of lawns in nature is not uniformly grassy.

Mowing is a really important task for a perfect lawn. Tools such as the prism is the most accurate tool for controlling the correct height of cut.

Grass height prism meter: professional precision