How short should you mow your lawn in Toowoomba?

Ask most people what makes a lawn look good and they say mowing often. Mowing height matters more. A lawn cut at the right height for its grass, every time, out-competes weeds, handles a dry spell and greens up faster after winter. The same lawn cut too short spends the whole summer recovering.

The one-third rule

Never take more than a third of the leaf off in a single cut. Grass makes its food in the leaf, so a cut that removes most of it leaves the plant living off its reserves until it regrows. Do that every visit and the lawn thins, browns off in the first hot week and opens up for clover, bindii and summer grass.

If a lawn has got away — after a wet fortnight or a holiday — bring it down over two or three cuts rather than one. It looks untidy for a week. Scalping it in one go costs you a month.

The heights we run

On our rounds we cut couch at about 34 mm and most other lawns at about 47 mm. Couch spreads by low runners and handles a lower cut; kikuyu, buffalo and most others want more leaf left on. Buffalo stays at the top of its range all year, because it is slow to fill back in when it is cut hard. If you are not sure what you have, our Toowoomba grass types guide walks through identifying it and the height for each.

When to go higher

• Shade. Grass under trees has less light to work with, so it needs more leaf to make the same food.
• Black cracking clay. A taller cut shades the soil, slows drying and limits how far the cracks open. More on that in black soil lawns: cracking and bogging.
• Hot, dry spells. Leaf shades the soil and slows water loss. A lawn cut short in a dry January browns off far faster than one left a notch higher.

The one time to go lower

Once, in early spring, once the lawn is genuinely growing again, a single cut one notch lower strips out the dead winter growth and lets the sun warm the soil. It is the only routine low cut of the year, and it is never done on buffalo. The full spring order is in spring lawn recovery in Toowoomba.

How often, through the year

Height and frequency work together. Through the warm months, roughly September to May, most Toowoomba lawns need mowing weekly to fortnightly to stay inside the one-third rule. Through June, July and August growth slows right down and most of our plans drop to fortnightly, every three weeks or every four weeks. We don't cut frosted grass, because it damages the leaf. Our how often to mow guide goes into the seasons in more detail.

Signs your lawn is being cut too short

• It goes straw-coloured for a few days after every mow.
• High spots and humps are scalped to bare soil.
• Clover, bindii or summer grass are spreading into thin patches.
• It browns off faster than the neighbours' in the same heat.

Leave it to us

Every standard visit from TopLawn includes bladed edging, whipper snipping and a blow-down, at the right height for your grass. Regular lawn mowing across Toowoomba and surrounds starts from $66 inc GST, and quotes are free, usually back within 1 business day.