Ask the Expert: The Perfect Length for a Lawn

Barefoot Lawn Care is a local landscaping and lawn care expert for those in Apex, Cary, Garner, Clayton, Fuquay-Varina, Holly Springs, Johnston County, Wake County, Wake Forest, and the surrounding areas, who are seeking answers on all lawn care questions. Every week we are asked a wide variety of questions from customers and others in the area. We are confident that if you have a question, we will be able to answer it to your satisfaction.

One of our most common questions: 

What is the proper length to mow one’s lawn?

North Carolina is in a transitional zone between northern areas that use more cool-season grasses and southern areas that rely more on warm-season grasses. This means property owners use a wide variety of turfgrasses with different recommended lengths.

Each of these grass types does have a “healthiest” length for cutting, however. Cutting below that length can be damaging to the lawn, exposing it to heat and disease. After finding the recommended length for your particular species of grass, it is best to err on the longer side of that number when you mow. During hotter months this is especially true. In cooler months it is not as harmful to cut in the lower end of the recommended length.

Grasses that are kept shorter (between ¼ inch and an inch) include bent grass and bermuda grass. The middle range (one to two inches) include zoysia, centipede, and St. Augustine. Longer grasses that should stay above two inches include tall fescue, buffalo grass, and bahia grass.

If you’re unsure what grass makes the most sense for your lawn, or how to best care for it, give us a call.