MAXIMIZE YOUR LAWN

There are a lot of opinions concerning the proper mowing of your bermuda lawn. Because there is a lot of latitude, we feel that explaining the dynamics will help you establish your mowing habits.

FIRST: Mowing is stressful to the lawn.

The more leaf that is removed, the more stress you place on the lawn. Therefore, the two cultural practices we need to consider Height and Frequency. In the extreme, by allowing the lawn to grow to 4 or 5 inches and mowing back to 1 inch every two weeks will keep the lawn in stress causing it to thin and invite weeds. This will not kill your lawn but it will probably keep you from winning any awards.

The height of your lawn can be anywhere from 1/4 inch to 4 inches. At the lower end you'll need a reel mower and a perfectly flat lawn. Anything above 11/2 inches can be cut with a sharp rotary of at least 4 hp. We like to recommend the 11/2 to 2 inch mowing height since it accommodates most mowers, allows for undulating soil and still falls in the shorter range that helps thicken the sod. Mowing above 2 inches could attribute to some thinning, which would increase as the height breaches the 4 inch range-.

Infrequent mowing allows too much growth prior to cutting; that results in the removal of most of the leaf. Your lawn is left with exposed brown stalks that may take 3, 4 or more days to leaf out and green up. At the 11/2 inch mowing height, a weekly cutting is generally sufficient. The exception to this is ideal growing conditions, plenty of water, etc., which may call for a 5-day mowing cycle for awhile. If you are reeling your lawn at 1 inch or less, you could find that every 3 to 5 days the rule.

Mower burns occur when uneven soil causes the blade to dip into the stalky part of your lawn removing all leaf in a local area. The result is a brown spot that appears after every mowing. This can be fixed by top dressing the low area with sand to level. Your sod will grown through the sand in a few weeks provided you top dress between April 15 and September 15.

Twice per year you should scalp the lawn. The first time in late March or early April is to remove the winter deadwood and ease the greening of the turf. You'll need to lower the mower blade as low as practical. Burning your lawn off accomplishes the same thing. We do not recommend doing either before the last weekend in March. After you've done the spring clean-up, reset the mower blade at your preferred height for the rest of the season. Sometime, usually midsummer, the woody part of bermuda will creep up into the mowing range. You'll know when, because your lawn will start showing the exposed stalks after each mowing. Simply scalp the lawn again. It will look rough for a couple of days, but if you water deeply the recovery will be quick. Afterwards, resume mowing at regular height.

Hopefully this will provide some guidelines. If there are any questions or comments please call me.