Many people will completely forget about their lawns in winter months.
Some don’t even believe you should ever cut the yard as grass becomes dormant during low temperatures.
But, do realize that grass doesn’t stop growing; it slows down.
This means your lawn will require some kind of care during the winter months, although a little more care.
You should ideally plan to cut the grass every 3-4 weeks in winter months, but again, this varies from season to season in your region. To be clear, when temperatures get down to around 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit, grass typically stops growing.
So, if you are in a very cold place like Minnesota, this won’t be a problem for you in winter.
Factors Affecting Mowing Frequency in Winter
| Factors Affecting Mowing Frequency In Winter | How Often To Mow? |
|---|---|
| When last did you fertilize your lawn? | Avoid mowing immediately after fertilizing your lawn. |
| Type of grass | Cool-season grasses thrive best in the cold – wait for the ice to melt to mow. Warm-season grasses go into dormancy in winter; therefore, mowing isn’t necessary. |
| How fast your lawn grows? | Most lawns enter a semi-dormant state during winter. However, if that is not the case with yours, try mowing every 3-4 weeks. |
| Temperature and region | Avoid mowing if there is snow and ice. |
| Height of grass | You can mow if the grass blades are longer than 6cm but under the right weather conditions |
When Was The Last Time You Fertilized?
To achieve a lush, healthy lawn, you need to know when and under what circumstances to cut the grass., especially if you have or will put fertilizer on your lawn.
Fertilizers deliver nitrogen, which keeps grass green, as well as small amounts of various nutrients.
Winter fertilizer is typically applied before the first frost. This winter fertilizer will replace nutrients depleted during the warm months and allow the roots to absorb nutrients in this timeframe.
Cutting the grass after the winter fertilizer may stunt root growth during the winter month.
Some lawnmowers, have a grass catcher that works like a vacuum and sucks up the fertilizer before the fertilizer can dissolve in the soil to benefit from providing the plant with nutrients.
The Type of Grass You Are Growing
Lawn mowing frequency depends on the type of grass and how fast it grows.
Cool Season Grass
You’ll see them all in the northern Hemisphere, and they grow best at 50 degrees to 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the fall and spring.
These grasses maintain their vibrant green hues, even when encased in snow or frost for extended periods of time, and even survive subzero temperatures.
So if conditions allow (i.e. no snow or ice), you should try to mow it regularly for healthy growth.
Note: Do not mow your lawn if it is wet and frozen. This will damage your turf and compact your soil!
Warm-season Grass
This grass grows the fastest in higher climates of which 80 to 90 degrees F is ideal, and is widely used for southern lawns.
It can still thrive and show its rich green color on hot days.
However when winter comes and the temperatures drop below 50 degrees F, the grass will abandon the green and fade to straw color as it goes dormant; therefore, mowing is not needed.
Hey, observe the type of grass you have by looking at the blade’s shapes, blades width, and struggles of blade tips. Some grasses grow underground stems with grass blades being above ground or both.
How Fast Your Lawn Grows in Winter?
In Northern (cool-season) grasses, which we grow in Northeastern Ohio, the grass will go dormant when the soil temperature drops below 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
Warm weather grasses will go dormant when the soil temperature drops below 50 to 55 degrees. In a dormant state, the grass slows its metabolic function in order to conserve more energy.
How often you have to mow your lawn is based on the number of days the grass is growing.
They will not completely stop growing; most of the winter growth in a grass bed is not significant.
Therefore, you will not have to mow in the winter unless it grows long, and in the right weather conditions.
Temperatures And Region You Live In
If you live in a snowy and/or frost-prone region, DO NOT cut down long grass.
Grass plants often have leaves at the top of the plant and need to continue to live all winter long.
By mowing them short, you are removing these leaves, leaving you with only stalks of grass. Grass does not grow new leaves very quickly when it is cold.
The following are things to avoid:
- Avoid mowing your lawn when it is wet due to snow and ice, and during cold temperatures.
- Mowing when the grass is frozen causes some blades of grass to break when the equipment is pushed across them and result in lawn damage.
However, following the melting of snow, you can begin mowing as long as the grass is tall enough to cut.
Similar to snowfall, temperature has a big impact on how often you would mow with the lawnmower. When it is colder than 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the grass will not typically grow tall enough to mow.
With regard to warmer winters, mowing your lawn will not cause any harm. You may consider working mowing into your winter lawn care agenda, but exercise caution.
At the very least, keep the lawnmower blades set higher than normal and only mow off 1/3 of the of the top off the grass. If you mow it too short, you can scalp the lawn, weakening it.
Height of The Grass
Imagine that you live in a moderate climate where snow and frost are non-existent.
In this case, you may want to mow your grass during the winter months to promote healthy blade height. A quick mow and maintaining a higher mowing height is most beneficial for maintaining some of the grass’s greenness and for appearances.
You may only have to mow your cool-season turf every three to four weeks during the winter months, depending on the type of turf.
It is suggested to maintain longer but not too long, and be sure you are not mowing with a lower height setting than 6 cm.
Length is very important for most cool-season turfs, primarily Kentucky Bluegrass. T-dwarf Bermuda and bent grass cultivars are better at a lower height (about 1 inch to 2 inches).
Maintaining a height of 2-3 inches basically allows the turf sufficient area to Photosynthesize to remain tolerant to the challenging winter months.
Good Tip: Although you will not be mowing as often as during the summer, you want to stay on your mow schedule. This will help promote a consistent growth and bring the lawns into the months warmer in good condition.
Final Thoughts
Even during the colder temperatures, lawn care is still needed and grasses will still need proper care, as they will grow at a slower rate when temperatures dip below 50 degrees, depending on your turf also.
If you must mow your lawn during winter, you will need to adjust the cutting blade slightly higher than usual; although it’s not necessary to mow your lawn during winter and is discouraged.
In addition, after a heavy rain, you’ll damage your lawn if you attempt to run your mower on a combination of muddy soil and wet grass blades.