With spring well and truly underway and summer just around the corner, it’s officially gardening season. But while it can be easy to overlook your lawn in favour of planting and pruning, it’s a great time of year to get started with some lawn maintenance too, especially if you’re aiming for a vibrant green lawn this summer.
But when it comes to mowing your grass, there’s more to it than you might think, and the time of day you choose to get your lawn mower out can actually greatly impact its health. With that in mind, a grass expert has revealed the ideal time to mow your lawn, adding that trimming your grass at the wrong time “can damage the blades and even increase the risk of disease”. The Grass People’s Chris McIlroy said: “At this time of year, grass can be quite dewy in the morning.”
Chris explained that the optimum time to get your mower out is around 10am in the morning, or between 4pm and 6pm in the afternoon.
“If you cut while it’s still wet, you will just drag and rip the blades rather than cutting them cleanly, which can lead to disease. It will also give you an undesirable finish.”
He continued: “This is why we would advise not to cut too early in the morning, and instead wait until the sun has had time to dry the dew off.
“If you really can’t wait, a quick hack is to drag a hose across the grass to get rid of much of the dew. It will then dry much quicker. A quick touch-test will determine if your grass is dry enough for mowing.”
If you don’t have time to tend to your garden in the morning, your best bet is to give it some TLC in the late afternoon, according to Chris.
“Alternatively, you could look to cut in the late afternoon, between around 4pm and 6pm,” he said.
“This avoids the hottest part of the day when your lawn could get stressed by the heat. It also ensures the grass has time to recover before nightfall, when the cold and damp weather could expose your freshly-cut blades to fungal growth.”
During the spring months, you should aim to mow your grass once a week, increasing this to around twice a week during the summer months.
Chris said: “Little and often is a good rule for cutting at this time of year. During the spring months, you ideally want to get your mower out every seven to 10 days, removing around one-third of the length each time.
“If you find your grass is looking bare and patchy, it might be because you are waiting too long to trim your blades, and then cutting it too low when you do.”
