Unless you have a passion for lawn care like the pros at our mowing company, you probably are not a huge fan of mowing the lawn every single week. The monotony of this task makes it tempting to just mow the grass as short as possible and then forget about it for a few weeks--but doing this can actually spell disaster for your once healthy, green lawn.

Learn why mowing height for lawns in Carmel, Westfield, Noblesville, and surrounding cities is incredibly important for your grass' health.


Mowing height affects many other aspects of your lawn.

When you keep your cool-season grasses at the correct height for their type, your lawn will be much happier and healthier. The correct height of your lawn depends on the type of grass you have, whether it be tall fescue, perennial ryegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, or fine fescue. Here's how mowing height affects other aspects:

Spider Lawn & Landscape lawn care worker mowing a yard at the proper height in Carmel, IN.

  • Photosynthesis: When your grass is too short, it cannot perform adequate photosynthesis. In turn, this has adverse effects on the health of the grass and its root system. Taller blades can photosynthesize much more efficiently and transport nutrients throughout the entire structure of your lawn.
  • Root growth: If you want shallow root growth that will cause your grass to be very weak and likely to be overtaken by weeds, insects, or fungal disease, then continue to mow at a short height. If, however, you want a strong root structure that will support a healthy, full lawn, then you need to ensure your grass is mowed at the correct height.
  • Stress: Not only does cutting the grass too short place stress on it, it also causes harm to the underlying soil. The grass needs to be at a certain height to protect the soil from getting dried out by the sun's rays. If the soil dries out and loses its moisture, it will be tougher to grow healthy grass. Dried out soil is where grass begins to die and weeds begin to thrive.

Mowing your lawn too short can end up killing your grass--and as a property owner, that is not what you want.


What Is the 1/3 Mowing Rule?

You may hear professional lawn mowers use the term "1/3 rule." Basically, this means you should never mow the lawn by more than a third of its current height to keep it in pristine condition. In order to follow this rule, you have to mow the lawn weekly during spring and fall, but you may be able to back off on frequency a bit during the summer since cool-season grasses grow more slowly at that point.


Worried that your lawn was mowed improperly? Call us to come help you.

If, after reading this, you are worried that your grass was mowed improperly and you need a professional to evaluate your lawn's health, our experts can come evaluate the state of your lawn and help you come up with a game plan. If you need lawn mowing services, we provide that in Noblesville, Westfield, Carmel, and nearby cities of Indiana. Call us today at (317) 900-7151!