1 day Ago By Katherine McPhillips
Now that the sun is shining more it may be tempting to get the lawnmower out and cut down the grass, but Monty Don is urging gardeners to be a little more cautious. Monty Don has shared one of the worst things you can do to grass in April springtime is cut too much off the top, and you should be careful even if your lawn is overgrown. On his website , Monty said: “Resist the temptation to scalp your grass down to its midsummer height.
Set the blades high and just trim the grass for the first few weeks as much to even it out as to reduce it.” It may seem strange but grass needs more time to grow properly after the harsh winter months and needs lots of sunlight in spring to establish itself. If you cut too much off the top of lawns it will halt its ability to photosynthesise and stunt its growth so you are more likely to get patchy grass with lots of weeds.
To keep your lawn healthy it is recommended to try and avoid cutting more than a third of the lawn height every time you mow in spring so it has more time to recover. Monty said: "Then, as the weather gets warmer and the grass starts to grow more strongly, gradually reduce the height over a few weeks but always keeping it slightly on the long side. This will result in a much healthier, greener sward.
" Once you have mowed the grass make sure to tidy up all the grass clippings as wet foliage can encourage fungal diseases, but you can still add the dry clippings to your compost. However, gardeners will be delighted to hear Monty Don has confessed that he tries not to mow much in the springtime to help encourage more biodiversity. Monty said: “I am all for mowing as little as possible.
That will mean different things to different people but long grass is one of the best environments for a huge diversity of wildlife in the garden, and long grass with flowers from bulbs, perennials and annuals is as beautiful as anything else you might grow. “Everybody is happy except perhaps those that see tidiness as the prime aim of gardening and children wanting somewhere to play.” Making sure not to mow too much gives the grass time to grow as cutting it back too much can disrupt its growth cycle.
Mowing less also allows the grass to focus its energy on growing deeper roots so the lawn will be more resilient to the extreme heat once summer arrives. If you want an excuse to not do as much garden work and keep your grass healthy this spring then only mow when absolutely necessary this April to ensure you a greener lawn later on in the year..
