Alabama Lawn Mowing Near Me
Caring for a lawn in Alabama is just a little bit different than caring for a lawn in other parts of the country. In the southeast United States, temperatures can run the gamut. Cold winters give way to hot, sticky summers and before you know it, lawn mowing season is here!
At Lawn Love, we strive to help you have the best lawn possible in the Heart of Dixie and our lawn care experts know just how to handle the special needs of lawns all across Alabama. Our services are available in:
- Trussville
- Bessemer
- Fairfield
- Helena
- Homewood
- Hoover
- Chelsea
- Gardendale
- McCalla
- Pelham
- Vestavia Hills
- Huntsville
Why work up a sweat in the hot Alabama sun when you can hire Lawn Love to do it for you? Our experienced and skilled lawn care technicians can take care of:
- Lawn Mowing
- Gardening
- Lawn Fertilization
- Lawn Aeration
- Weed Control
- Lawn Seeding
- Yard Clean Up
- Leaf Removal
- Gutter Cleaning
- Snow Removal
- Christmas light installation
There's no lawn care task too big or too small for the pros at Lawn Love. If you want to tackle your Alabama lawn on your own, then understanding the basics of mowing and caring for your lawn should be your top priority. Here are some of our expert tips to help you get started.
First Things First
Before you can understand the mowing needs of your lawn, you must first understand the type of grass you have growing in it. Because Alabama can get so hot in the summer, chances are a warm season grass that thrives in the heat is what you have, but a few cool season kinds of grass sneak in from time to time. The most common lawn grasses in Alabama are:
- Bluegrass
- Bermudagrass
- Centipedegrass
- St. Augustine
- Tall Fescue
- Zoysiagrass
All of these grasses have at least a fair tolerance for drought, with Zoysiagrass and Bermudagrass being the best. Of course, they all also have different maintenance levels and mowing heights, which is why it's so important to figure out what type of grass you have growing in your Alabama lawn.
So what type of grass is it? You can use this grass type identifier to help you figure it out!
Identify the Proper Mowing Height
Now that you know what type of grass you have, you can find its correct mowing height. Why is mowing height so important? Think about it this way: When you go to the beach for the first time in the summer and forget sunblock, you'll probably get burned. Exposing the stems of the grass to direct sunlight during the hot Alabama spring and summer will give your lawn a sunburn too. It can cause bare spots, brown patches, and maybe even kill off the grass altogether. The rule of thumb no matter what season you're mowing is that only one-third of the blade of grass should be cut off at once.
Here are the suggested heights to mow the grass to for the different grasses in Alabama:
- Bluegrass — 2.5 to 3 inches
- Bermudagrass — 1 to 1.5 inches
- Centipedegrass — 1 to 1.5 inches
- St. Augustine — 2.5 to 4 inches
- Tall Fescue — 2 to 3 inches
- Zoysiagrass — 1 to 2 inches
Keep the Mower Blades Sharp
Admittedly, sharpening mower blades is a pretty easy task to forget. After all, the impact dull blades have on your lawn isn't something you're going to notice right away — even dull blades will cut grass. The problem with dull blades is the kind of cut they're giving your lawn.
A sharp mower blade will cut the blades of grass cleanly. A dull blade, on the other hand, will tear the grass blade, which will then cause the tips of the blades to brown and make your lawn more susceptible to pests and disease.
Periodically check your mower blades. If they appear slightly rugged and have nicks up and down the blade, then it's time to sharpen them. To keep your blades adequately sharp, sharpen them at least twice a year. You can either buy a sharpening tool to do it yourself or hire a professional to do it for you.
How Often to Mow
Sometime around Memorial Day or the beginning of June you should be dusting off your lawn mower to begin your regular lawn maintenance. Of course, how often you need to mow depends on the type of grass you have, how often and how much you fertilize, and how often you water it. The biggest factor is the height of your grass since you never want to cut off more than one-third of the height of the blade at a time.
What About Clippings?
Probably one of the biggest mistakes many Alabamans make is not leaving the lawn clippings on the lawn. Some people just don't like the way it looks, but the lawn clippings are actually incredibly nourishing for your lawn. Many lawn experts agree that a quarter of all the nutrients a lawn needs can be found in the decomposition of the clippings. It's free fertilizer!
If you're worried that leaving clippings on the lawn will contribute to troublesome thatch, you can rest assured it won't. The tips of grass blades simply decompose too quickly to contribute to thatch.
There are a few scenarios where you should remove excess clippings from your lawn, such as:
- Clippings are longer than one inch
- The grass contains pests
- The grass is wet
- The grass is diseased
If you cut your grass when it's dry, you cut it as often as you should, and your lawn is healthy, then there's really no reason not to leave clippings on your lawn.
Mowing your lawn is simply a part of regular spring and summer lawn maintenance in Alabama and the rest of the country. If you don't have the time or the desire to get it done yourself, then the experts at Lawn Love are more than happy to take over!
