Oklahoma Lawn Mowing Service
Oklahoma may be a landlocked state, but its weather is heavily influenced by the Gulf of Mexico, making it a unique place to grow and maintain a healthy and lush lawn. In the Sooner State, summers can feel like you live on the surface of the sun, but the winter on the plains can be cold and blustery. If you're unsure what you need to do to keep your lawn healthy, Lawn Love is here to help! We offer our awesome services all over the state. You can find us in:
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Norman
- Edmond
- Moore
- Yukon
- Mustang
- Bethany
- Choctaw
- El Reno
- Guthrie
- Harrah
- Midwest City
- Newcastle
- Nichols Hills
- The Village
- Tuttle
- Warr Acres
- Del City
- Tulsa, OK
We can take care of all your lawn care needs, including:
- Lawn Mowing
- Gardening
- Lawn Fertilization
- Lawn Aeration
- Weed Control
- Lawn Seeding
- Yard Clean Up
- Leaf Removal
- Gutter Cleaning
- Snow Removal
- Christmas light installation
Lawn mowing is an activity that every homeowner has done at some point — it's a necessity for a healthy lawn. Whether you plan on doing it yourself or hiring the pros at Lawn Love to help, it's important to understand the how's and why's of lawn mowing. Here are a few of our best tips to get you started!
Get to Know Your Lawn
When it comes to caring for your lawn the right way, the first thing you must identify is the type of grass growing in it! Different species of grass require different care, from mowing height to water to fertilization.
The most common warm-season turfgrasses in Oklahoma are:
- Bermudagrass
- Buffalograss
- St. Augustinegrass
- Zoysiagrass
The most common cool-season turfgrasses are:
- Kentucky Bluegrass
- Ryegrass
- Tall Fescue
What's the difference between warm-season and cool-season grasses? Warm-season grasses do best in warmer temperatures, turning brown in the winter. Cool-season grasses, as you might suspect, do best in cooler temperatures, browning in the summer. Most people have a mix of the two growing in their lawn to keep it green all year long. To identify which grasses you have, you can use this handy identification tool.
Mowing Heights
Now that you know which type of grass (or grasses) growing in your lawn, you can understand a little more about how to cut them. Each species of grass has an ideal mowing height to help it flourish. The ideal mowing height for the different types of grasses are:
- Bermudagrass — 0.50 to 0.75 inches in the summer, 1.0 to 1.25 inches in the fall and winter
- Buffalograss — 1.5 to 3.0 inches in the summer, 2.0 to 3.0 inches in the fall and winter
- St. Augustinegrass — 2.5 inches in the summer, 3.0 inches in the fall and winter
- Zoysiagrass — 0.50 to 0.75 inches in the summer, 1.0 to 1.25 inches in the fall and winter
- Kentucky Bluegrass — 2.5 inches in summer and in winter
- Ryegrass — 2.5 inches in summer and in winter
- Tall Fescue — 3.0 inches in summer and 2.5 inches in winter
Why the difference in cutting height between the seasons? That's necessary for warm-season grasses because cutting lower in the summer helps to promote healthy and deep roots, making it more resistant to drought, disease, pests, and weeds. Any type of grass cut too low won't be able to take environmental stresses or heavy foot traffic. If you have grass growing in the shade, that should always be left just a bit longer to compensate for the lower levels of light.
Ideally, grass should be mowed on a schedule based on how much it grows between mowings. This can vary due to how much moisture is in the soil if the grass is properly fertilized and the amount of sunlight it's getting. When you combine those factors with the rule that you should never cut more than one-third of the height of the grass blades at once, you're looking at mowing once a week or maybe even more at peak growing season.
A Few More Tips
There are a few more important things you should know to maintain your lawn at its best. First, the clippings your mower leaves behind? You need to leave them behind too. Removing the clippings after you've mowed will rob your lawn of important nutrients. Plus, grass clippings only take up space in the landfill — it's better to leave them!
You also need to make sure your mower is well-maintained, especially the blades. A sharp blade will cleanly slice the blades of grass and reduce the stress placed on your lawn when you mow. A dull blade will tear the grass, causing water loss and making your lawn more susceptible to environmental stress.
Each time you mow your lawn, make sure to vary the pattern you use. This will help reduce soil compaction, reduce wear, and improve the way your lawn looks! You should also avoid mowing wet grass, which is difficult to cut well and will clump on your turf, possibly smothering the grass underneath.
Mowing the lawn may be a common practice, but it's not as simple as you think! If you find your need back up, call the pros at Lawn Love today!
