patchy grass and lawn

“Dead-Heading” Your Lawn, And Why

There are two schools of thought pertaining to when to cut your lawn for the first time in the spring.

One, wait as long as you possibly can, because it’s just one more thing to do no a weekly basis.

Or two, cut it early, now, because if you cut off the dead tops of last fall’s grass it helps your lawn come in with a more uniform color and more uniform growth.  Let us explain.

Cutting the dead tops of your grass helps it to green up quicker, and more uniformly.

Cutting the dead tops of your grass helps it to green up quicker, and more uniformly.

Some grass varieties, particularly fescue (see photo above), tend to turn brown over the winter and stay that way long into spring, depending on the weather.  If you really care about color and how your lawn looks on Easter, it’s a good idea to mow just the dead tops off early, even in March – but try not to cut more than a 1/2 inch.  This helps the plant actually generate itself sooner, grow more uniformly, and have color sooner than adjacent yards that wait til later.

And, it’s a good idea to actually “dead head” your yard a couple of times.  Don’t just do it once and wait, but rather mow it a second time about three days after the original cut.  You’ll be surprised at the difference it will make with how early your lawn comes to life.

It really is a good practice, it will deliver great results, and maybe best of all…if you give it a short clip right now you’ll avoid excessive clippings by waiting until mid-April to mow for the first time.  That’s three benefits to what we call “dead-heading”, and just one of the things you can do for a better looking yard this spring.

If you want to know more, give Ever-Green a call and we’ll be happy to come out for a free consultation and estimate.