You won’t find the date on any calendar or city information board, but it’s coming fast.
The final mowing day of the season: the last cut.
It’s a bittersweet season finale for some homeowners. While it’s a joyful time for overworked, tired homeowners with now one less chore on their plate, the last mow of the season means the true end of summer and the fast-approaching march of winter.
“While there are a handful of people who love the act of getting outdoors and mowing their lawn during the growing season, there are probably even more people who are counting down the days until they can pack up their lawn equipment and put the bulk of their outdoor chores behind them,” Martha Stewart.com’s Lauren Wellbank writes.
But when should you call it a mowing season and take the ball from your mower? It’s a tricky question that doesn’t have a clear-cut stop date.
“It can be difficult to know when exactly to stop mowing your lawn in the fall,” Homes & Garden’s Tenielle Jordison writes.
Defrosting A Frosty Old Mowing Rule
Remember, that old steadfast rule about putting a hard stop on mowing after the first frost of fall? It turns out our changing climate has thrown a curveball into that old school conventional wisdom.
After all, the sun shined 83-degree rays down on Cedar Rapids on Sept. 30 and a run of three weeks of dry weather in September left most Eastern Iowa lawnmowers idling in the bullpen throughout the month.
“Many recommendations are to stop mowing after the first frost, which is a reasonable guideline, but with our ever-changing climate, it is still possible to have growth after an early-season frost,” lawn care industry expert Jason McCausland told MarthaStewart.com.
Keep Mowing If It’s Still Growing
If your grass is still green and growing healthy, keep your mower on the job and on call.
“The golden rule is to keep mowing if it’s still growing,” McCausland advises, “and of course, never remove more than one third of the grass blade at each mowing.”
And in Iowa these warm autumn days, bluegrass can grow until early-to-mid November.
“Once the foliage stops growing, the lawn mower can be put away for the winter,” the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach recommends.
So your mower’s retirement date for this year depends on what kind of weather game Mother Nature is playing this fall.
And she will send signals.
Seasonal Signals
The signs of when to send your lawnmower off on its winter vacation to the garage will appear in the form of …
Soil Temperature: Warm-season grasses go dormant when soil temperatures regularly dip below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The cooler temperatures will lead to a steady slowing in grass growth. If you notice zero visible growth after two weeks, it’s safe to retire your mower for the season unless you’d prefer to use it for 1-2 leaf mulch cuts.
Falling Leaves: Fall’s most famous and telling sign of cooling temperatures is as reliable as the clock. When trees lose more than half of their leaves, grass will grow considerably slower.
The End-of-Season Mowing Plan
Remember, your lawn will do much of the work to prepare itself for winter on its own. But the occasional short lawn cut can help prepare it for the frosty days ahead. Be sure not to scalp it and mow at a height of 1.5 inches (for Kentucky bluegrass and ryegrass) and two inches (for fescue grasses) during the fall season.
Don’t forget to also mulch or rake away any debris including leaves, twigs and rocks before winter hits. Leaving debris on the lawn in the winter is a recipe for turf suffocation and can lead to fungal disease.
The final cut of the season is coming. Know when to call it a season for your lawn mower by observing the season and your lawn’s reaction to it. And remember, you don’t want to get your final mow of the season wrong.
“It is important to get the final cut of the year right, however, if you wish to avoid causing irreversible damage to your grass,” Jordison stresses.
