How Often Should You Mow Your Lawn in Louisiana?

Ask ten people how often to mow and you get ten answers. Down here the honest answer comes down to one thing: how fast your grass is growing right now. In a Louisiana summer that means more often than most folks think.

The short answer

From March through October, most lawns in the Baton Rouge area need a cut every 7 to 10 days. In the peak of summer, after a stretch of heat and afternoon storms, a fast lawn wants a cut every 5 to 7 days. From November through February the grass slows way down and you drop to every 2 to 3 weeks, or you stop until it wakes back up.

Mowing height by grass type

Two grasses cover most yards around Central, Baton Rouge, and Denham Springs. They want different heights.

• St. Augustine: keep it tall, around 3 to 4 inches. Tall blades shade the soil, hold moisture, and crowd out weeds. Cut St. Augustine too short and chinch bugs and weeds move right in.
• Centipede: a little lower, around 1.5 to 2 inches. Centipede is slower and lower growing, so it forgives a longer gap between cuts.
• Bermuda: lower still, around 1 to 2 inches, and it loves frequent cuts to stay tight.

Why timing beats a fixed schedule

A calendar tells you the date. Your grass tells you the truth. After a week of rain and 95 degree heat, St. Augustine puts on growth fast, and a yard that looked fine on Monday looks shaggy by Friday. We watch the growth on your property and adjust, instead of forcing every lawn onto the same day no matter what.

A few habits that keep your lawn healthy

• Keep the blade sharp. A dull blade tears the grass and leaves a brown, ragged tip that invites disease.
• Change your direction each mow. Rotating the pattern keeps blades standing tall and stops ruts from forming.
• Leave the clippings when they are short. They break down fast and feed nitrogen back into the soil.
• Do not mow wet grass when you have a choice. Wet clumps smother the lawn and clog the deck.

Let us keep it on schedule

The hardest part of mowing right is doing it on time, every time, through a long hot season. That is the part we handle. We set you on a weekly or bi-weekly plan, run sharp blades, rotate the pattern, and detail the edges so your yard stays sharp without you thinking about it.

Curious what your grass needs? Read up on why lawns turn yellow in summer, see how our mowing service works, or check lawn care in Central, LA.