Tips for a Healthier Lawn
Proper mowing height of turgrasses is essential in order to produce an attractive, healthy lawn.
As a general rule, a grass should be mowed often enough so that you never remove more than 1/4-1/3 of the plant material. Example: If a ST AUGUSTINE lawn is cut at a height of 2 inches, the grass should be cut when it reaches 3 inches. Removal of too much plant material can shock the grass.
During stress periods, such as summer heat, it is a good idea to raise the height of cut slightly.
If lawns are properly fertilized and mowed, grass clippings will not promote thatch accumulation. In fact returning the clippings to the soil will recycle plant nutrients and reduce fertilizer requirements. However, on high level maintenance lawns, such as hybrid bermuda and zoysiagrass lawns, clipping removal is advised, otherwise thatch will accumulate.
| Grass | Cutting Height (inches) |
|---|---|
| Common Bermudagrass | 1-2 |
| Hybrid Bermudagrass | 0.5-1.5 |
| Zoysia | 0.5-1.5 |
| Centipedegrass | 1-1.5 |
| St. Augustine | 2-3 |
| Ryegrass | 1-2 |
When irrigating lawns, too much water is not always a good thing!! Keep tabs on how much water your lawn is getting.
Just putting the irrigation system on a routine and leaving it is not a good thing
Too much irrigation not only wastes water, it hurts your lawn.
Most warm-season perennial grasses — centipede, Bermuda, Saint Augustine and zoysia grasses — require about 1 inch of water a week.
Overwatering your lawn can result in a shallow root system and reduced drought tolerance, more diseases, more weeds, an increase in damaging insect populations, more thatch and excessive growth, and reduced tolerance to shade and soil problems
Let your lawn tell you when to water
Don’t duplicate Mother Nature’s efforts. If rain is forecast for your area, turn off your sprinkler system. Lawns only need about 1 inch of irrigation a week, so one summer thunderstorm might get the job done.
Most info on this page is courtesy of COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES, UGA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
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