Here in North Texas, where we have a year-round warm climate, properties need year-round care. While not every property needs lawn mowing throughout all of the seasons, there are often other tasks that need to be handled to keep the lawn and landscape looking its best.
In this article, we’ll talk about seasonal lawn mowing so that you can make the best choices for your property.
This lawn mowing guide should provide you with all of the pertinent advice you’ll need to have a great-looking lawn all year long.
In our area, few properties require true, year-round lawn mowing in North Texas. Depending upon the grass type you have growing, it’s likely that your lawn will go dormant for the off-season. Of course, as you know, we have some hot days, even in the winter, and the lawn may still have periods of growth in which it needs to be mowed shorter.
One exception to a period of dormancy is for homeowners who have their lawn overseeded with Winter Ryegrass. In that case, homeowners have dual types of grass growing (both warm season and cool season), so they’ll need year-round mowing to keep the grass cut short.
At Grassperson, we really only have a small percentage of our homeowners doing this and it’s not something we recommend. That’s because there are downsides to this practice, including the fact that ryegrass will compete with the rest of the lawn for nutrients come spring (and can make achieving a healthy lawn a bigger challenge).
Assuming, you don’t overseed with Winter Ryegrass, you’ll have a final “regular” mow performed ahead of the winter season.
This should include adjusting the mower to cut grass 1 inch shorter so it is 2 inches tall for the last major lawn cut of the season. This is true whether your lawn is Bermudagrass, St. Augustine grass or Zoysia grass.
A closer cut, along with bagging grass clippings, will help remove thatch buildup and pull up clutter like acorns and leaves from the yard. You’ll still need to mow your lawn on about a bi-weekly basis during winter, so it’s not too late to accomplish that shorter cut if it didn’t get done in late fall.
As far as seasonal mowing goes, the winter mowing that is performed in the winter is more about mulching the leaves than cutting the grass. This is important because you don’t want leaves to sit on your lawn all winter. When they do, they can create a “blanket” that starts to suffocate the lawn.
When a lawn is blanketed with leaves, it can’t receive water, air, and nutrients that it needs.
Of course, there are other important property work that we’re also performing when we’re out on your lawn in the winter. We might also be cleaning up the flower beds or tidying the property. As you know, the winter winds can blow debris into the yard, making it look messy.
For these reasons, our clients like to be on year-round programs so that their property never goes through a season of looking unkempt. There is a lot of detail work that can be done in the winter to keep your property looking neat and tidy, even if it doesn’t need a lot of mowing.
On top of that, some of the most crucial weed control applications for Texas lawns happen during the off-season, beginning in fall with a pre-emergent and weed control application to minimize winter weeds, and with another treatment again around December. This preventive treatment stops weeds from developing into full-blown broadleaf weeds that are frustrating to manage.
At the end of the day, lawn mowing is just one of many important tasks involved with keeping your lawn looking its best. Even when regular mowing isn’t needed, there are always important tasks that can be performed around the property to keep it in its best shape.
We might also be edging, blowing off hard surfaces, picking up debris, mulching leaves, and more.
This is why clients appreciate our Total Maintenance package, that ensures their property is getting everything it needs, no matter what the season.
You shouldn’t have to go through a period where your property looks in rough shape. With a lawn and landscape professional looking out for you and your property, you can rest assured it’s going to look the best on the block all year-round.
Are you ready to feel confident your lawn and landscape are getting everything they need at your Flower Mound, Highland Village, or Lewisville, TX home? Get a free quote and then enjoy the best property on the block without the worries!