The University of Arkansas has put together a great list of 20 lawn care myths for homeowners. We encounter people who believe one or more of these myths all the time, so we wanted to pass the info on to better educate people. You can read the individual items for yourself, but we want to pull out three themes that we think are important.
Shorter isn’t better
The first group of myths dispels the reasons for homeowners to cut their grass short. Doing so is not healthy for the lawn and requires more maintenance on your part. Grass should be between two and four inches long, and you should never cut more than a third of the grass blade off. The ideal height for your grass depends on the variety.
Variety matters
Indeed many factors in maintaining healthy lawns depend on the type of grass you have. Some varieties respond better to fertilizer in the late spring. Others should be fertilized in the fall. While all grass needs some direct sunlight, some varieties can handle shade better than others. Seeding times and fertilizer type also depend on the grass variety.
Let it lie
Many homeowners are used to cleaning up lawn clippings in the summer and raking leaves in the fall in part to keep their lawns healthy. They don’t need to do this. Grass clippings won’t hurt your lawn. Mulched leaves can actually help the lawn. You don’t want leaves covering your grass, so if you get a lot of leaves, you’ll still need to rake. But if you get only a thin layer of leaves, mow them to chop them up and let the pieces settle amid the grass and create a nice mulch layer.
If you’re looking for more advice on care for your lawn, contact us. We can give you some hints as well as information on lawn irrigation systems that can keep it looking great.