Done regularly, and with the right equipment, mowing need not be time-consuming, but it is an essential part of keeping your lawn in peak condition. Here, we offer a quick gardening guide to the best practices for effective lawn mowing. 

Mowing for healthy growth


Mowing is essential to achieve a dense, healthy and even lawn. Cutting the grass encourages it to spread and form offshoots, creating a rich, green swathe. There are a few tips that will help you to make the job as quick and simple as possible.

Firstly, if the grass is wet, it is best not to mow it. Wet grass forms clumps and sticks to the blades of the mower, clogging it up. Instead of being collected by the mower's grass box or bag, it falls back onto the ground, and you are left with the tedious job of raking it up.

Secondly, lawnmowers cannot cut effectively when the grass is over 8cm high, so regular cutting is a must. Set the cutting height to maximum for the first cut of the year, then lower the cutting height and mow the area again.

Do not mow too low or you will expose the roots, which may then die and leave unsightly bald patches that become colonised quickly by weeds. The ideal length of grass for an informal lawn is 2.5-3.5cm although formal lawns can be mown shorter (to a height of about 0.5-2.5cm).

In spring and summer, and especially in warm, wet weather, it is advisable to mow an informal lawn once a week. In autumn, once a fortnight should be sufficient.

Sharp lawnmower blades are vital. Blunt blades rip instead of cut and risk tearing up the roots of the grass. The time of day at which you mow is also important. Mowing at midday in sweltering heat is particularly hard on the lawn, especially at the height of summer, when the tips of the freshly cut grass are likely to scorch.

It is better to mow in the morning or afternoon, when the atmosphere is a little cooler. In periods of drought your lawn will cope with the dryness better if you let the grass grow a bit longer.

Lawnmowers with boxes or bags that collect the grass cuttings make the job much easier. If using a simple manual mower without a collection bag, allow the cut grass to wither slightly, then rake it up.

Removing grass clippings lessens the spread of annual meadow grass and weeds such as white clover (Trifolium repens).The grass cuttings can be added in thin layers to the compost heap.


Make life easier

  • As a rule of thumb, avoid cutting off more than one-third of the length of the grass at any one time; otherwise the grass will be slow to recover and the lawn will suffer.
  • With an irregular-shaped patch of lawn, mow the edges first, then the centre in parallel strips.
  • Cut edges and less accessible spots afterwards with edging shears or a strimmer.
  • Begin mowing a strip at each end of the lawn, then mow up and down in slightly overlapping rows from one side to the other