Much like the scorching summer sun can ravage a lawn, so too can the southerly winter winds and snow; which is why we recommend prepping your lawn at least a couple of weeks going into the winter.
One of the essential components for winter prepping your lawn is mowing, but does one leave grass long or cut it short for winter?
As you get to the latter mows of the season, gently lower the cutting deck gradually as the final few mows commence, in order to acclimate the overall height of the grass to a lower height (2 – 2.5 inches).
A clean lawn, which held a shorter cut will winterize your yard, to put it in the status of surviving through the winter, as well as help the lawn achieve early spring success.
As winter approaches, the benefits to the tall turf begins to dwindle.
The tall blades simply become a safe haven for insects looking to overwinter, and a heaven for funguses and mold to grow.
Long Vs Short Grass: Which Is The Best for Winter and Why?
Most lawn care experts recommend keeping your lawn short before the winter snow comes.
This is because:
- Rodent infestation
- Lawn diseases and grass rot
- Snow mold
Rodent Infestation
Throughout the winter months, animals like moles and voles (often referred to as field mice) feast on our snow-covered lawns by chewing through the grass, making themselves runways.
You may not even realize your lawn is suffering until the snow melts.
The answer is prevention, trying to make your lawn as inhospitable to mice as possible. You can do this by keeping the grass short before the winter.
If you leave your lawn long, and it snows during the winter, field mice will most likely nibble on that lawn.
Wonder Why: This is because field mice will need higher grass to bury themselves in to stay warm throughout the winter and hide from the predators.
Lawn Diseases and Grass Rot
A pathogen that causes disease requires just two essentials: a host and the appropriate environment.
Tall grass and moist conditions are a few attractive conditions for pathogens, and fungus loves both.
Simply put, when the snow lands on the ground, preceding long grass which will typically be long enough to bend over, will bend over and mat to the ground or other blades of grass.
This will – diminish some airflow around the blades and moisture will get trapped from the snow which prevents it from evaporating; which leads to pathogens, like brown patches and powdery mildew, to take hold and begin to rot your grass.
So, while you may be tempted to put off mowing your lawn for the winter season, you may want to reconsider neglecting your lawn again.
Long grass in the winter creates an open invitation for disease to take hold. Pathogens can’t survive on a short lawn, therefore, they will not have a chance of taking hold.
Think About This: A fungicide may allow you to manage a severe infestation, but using this as a treatment may not be best treatment if your utilize it too late. The reason why is even with fungicide, you can only use this product to manage diseases if you apply them in advance of an infestation.
Snow Mold
When snow melts, a gray or pink crusty layer develops on lawns.
This layer is called snow mold. Snow mold typically dies at the area desiccates from snowmelt; however, some turf may be severely damaged or dead already.
This is common in yards that have not been maintained for winter properly.
When there is early snow, it melts fast as the ground is still fairly warm, and if the grass was left long in the fall, it creates a good environment for snow mold to start.
Additionally, the grass in itself traps the moisture at the soil surface, which makes the grass soggy and persistent moisture cool under all that long grass to create the perfect environment for snow mold.
Therefore, cutting the grass short before the first heavy snowfall can reduce the risk of snow mold; because short grass creates a layer between the frozen additions and the ground that will allow soil to freeze out quicker.
What Is The Ideal Height for Your Grass in the Winter?
Most professionals will say that just before winter, you’ll need to get your grass blades as short as possible leading up to that point but not all at once.
You want to take it down to the shortest length that can be managed (without scalping it) but avoid removing more than 1/3 of the blade length at one time.
A thorough understanding of how short to remove your grass just before winter is the first step in learning how to take care of your lawn before cold weather starts its approach.
If you cut it either too short or too long, cold temperatures can harm or stress your roots or leaves.
How short to cut your grass for winter-related purposes does not have a clear consensus since different grass species or kinds (warm-season grasses and cool-season grasses) can have different “preferred” lengths in order to survive the winter.
| Grass Type | Ideal height for winter |
|---|---|
| Perennial Rye grass | 2 to 2.5 inches |
| Tall Fescue grass | 2 to 2.5 inches |
| Fine Fescue | 2 to 2.5 inches |
| Bentgrass | 1.5 to 2 inches |
| Kentucky grass | 2 to 2.5 inches |
| Bermuda grass | 1.5 inches |
| Centipede grass | 2.5 inches |
| Zoysia grass | 1.5 inches |
| St. Augustine grass | 2.5 inches |
| Buffalo grass | 2.5 inches |
Types of grass & Optimal winter height
Even without this level of granularity, you have a basic standard to reference for any grass types.
When all is said and done, you want your lawn to be roughly 2 to 2 ½ inches at the end of the season.
That is the golden height because it allows your grass to maximize it’s photosynthesis during the harsh winter cold, and be the most resilient as possible.
And, even better: that height also stimulates root growth and improves disease tolerance before the cold of winter arrives.
Final Thoughts
The best height for grass in the winter is 2 to 2 ½ inches tall.
If you follow an ideal grass height for winter, you will also avoid insect infestation, snow mold, and diseases caused by fungus.
You will also ensure your grass doesn’t become a home for rodents that destroy lawns.
Getting the height and trimming right will protect the plants from the coldest of winter and leave them looking greener and thicker than before!