The main maintenance and management of cool-season lawns or warm-season lawns are: mowing, irrigation and fertilizing. Next, I will work with you to learn more about
lawn mowing
1. Pruning principle
1/3 principle: Each pruning amount should not exceed 1/3 of the total longitudinal height of the stems and leaves, and the rhizomes should not be damaged. Otherwise, the normal growth of the lawn grass will be affected due to the imbalance between the growth of above-ground stems and leaves and the growth of underground roots.
2. Trim height
Pruning height (stubble height) is the vertical height of above-ground branches after pruning.
Different lawn grasses tolerate different mowing heights due to their different biological characteristics.
Turfgrasses that grow upright, such as bluegrass and tall fescue, generally cannot tolerate low mowing; turfgrasses with stolons, such as creeping bentgrass and bermudagrass, can tolerate low mowing.
When setting the cutting height of the lawnmower, it should be done on a flat, hardened road surface.
Since the lawnmower walks on the stems and leaves of the lawn grass, the actual cutting height of the lawn grass should be slightly higher than the height set by the lawnmower.
Low-cut lawns look beautiful, but they are not resistant to environmental stress, are prone to disease, and are highly dependent on careful cultivation and management.
Maintaining a low-cut lawn requires a higher level of skill than maintaining a high-cut lawn.
3. Trimming direction
Due to the different mowing directions, the orientation and reflection of the lawn stems and leaves are also different, resulting in alternating light and dark strips like those seen in many stadiums. The fruit collars trimmed by small lawn mowers also show the same pattern.
4. Treatment of trimmed grass
Grass clippings contain nutrients needed by plants and are one of the important sources of nitrogen.
Returning this part of nutrients to the soil can reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers used and gradually improve soil fertility. If you prune for a long time and remove the clipped grass, it will eventually cause the soil nutrient balance to become imbalanced, and chemical fertilizers will also need to be applied to replenish the nutrients taken away.
Precautions:
1) Cool-season lawn: In summer, the mowing height should be increased appropriately to compensate for high temperature and drought stress.
Warm-season lawns: The mowing height should be increased in the early and late stages of growth to improve the lawn’s frost resistance and enhance photosynthesis.
2) For turfgrass growing on the shady side, whether it is warm season turfgrass or cool season turfgrass, the mowing height should be 1.5~2.0cm higher than normal to increase the leaf area and facilitate the formation of photosynthetic products.
3) The lawn entering winter should be mowed lower than the normal mowing height. This can extend the green period of the lawn in winter and return green earlier in spring.
4) During the turfgrass stress period, the mowing height should be increased. Lowering your turfgrass mowing height is particularly dangerous during periods of hot drought or high humidity.
5) Before the lawn turns green in spring, the mowing height should be as low as possible and the upper yellow and old leaves should be cut off to facilitate the lower living leaves and soil to receive sunlight and promote greening.
Post time: Jun-13-2024