A gardening expert has shared the exact week you should cut your grass before putting your lawn mower away until next year.
It comes after a homeowner took to social media to ask whether they should cut their 10cm-long grass before winter or leave it until spring.
They asked: “Clueless whether to cut before winter sets in. First time having our own grass lawn and we have been pretty busy with the move and our baby so haven’t got round to cutting the grass.
“Obviously it’s getting cold now, and I’ve heard there are optimal times to cut grass before winter, any advice on what I should do? I am a complete garden novice so be nice.”
According to the experts at Hayter, you should stop cutting your grass in either late October or early November – making the week of Halloween the best time to make the final trim.
A statement reads: “Referencing the start of mowing season in spring, mowing should stop when temperatures are consistently at 6°C or lower.
“If we are having a warmer late autumn and early winter than expected, you may find mowing can continue into early to mid-November.
“If it’s too cold to mow, it’s important to still perform regular garden maintenance tasks to keep your lawn healthy for next spring.
“Late autumn and early winter are the ideal times for maintenance – you should carry out a regular clean-up of garden borders and leaves as and when needed.”
Commenting on this, one social media user said: “Mine is a similar length, and I’m leaving it until spring.
“My understanding is a lot of lawn advice comes from the US. In certain states there, it’s likely your lawn will be under snow all winter, so keeping it short reduces the chance of disease during that time.
“That’s not going to be the case for most of the UK. So you are better off leaving it longer so it can photosynthesise better with the reduced winter sun. I’ll let you know in the spring if I’m correct!”
Another user added: “Don’t overthink it or worry too much, for me it’s looking a little uneven so I’d trim it back a little.
“You’re going to be looking at it for the next few months so might as well neaten it up, just don’t cut it as short as normal.
“The main issue with wet grass is churning up your lawn as you walk on it rather than the actual cutting.
“It’s not looking like a cold winter so it’ll still grow albeit very slowly compared to summer.”
A third user said: “If the ground is dry enough that your mower isn’t sinking you can cut it to tidy it up during the winter, just mow it on a higher setting than you normally would.”
One more user said: “Mine is a similar length, I was hoping to cut it one last time before spring but it is so wet and muddy that it’s just not possible.
“Unless we get a full week plus of dry weather I think it’s unlikely it’ll be possible again, but I think it should be fine.”