Mow Your Lawns Higher In Perth

Time To Mow Lawns Higher In Perth

Perth and it's surrounding towns are very different from the rest of Australia when it comes to lawns, reticulation and soil types. The soils are very sandy, highly alkaline, have poor nutrients and are highly water repellent. Most lawns in Perth also have underground reticulation systems. And most lawns in Perth are mowed by professional Contractors using Cylinder Lawn Mowers at very low heights.

The Benefits For Lawns In Perth

While the watering systems and standard cylinder lawn mowing practices are a definite positive for Perth lawns, these same practices have also created many bad habits over many years which has led to great problems for lawns in Perth which other lawn owners in Australia are not faced with.

Lawn Watering In Perth

The first problem for Perth lawns arises from the use of lawn reticulation. Reticulation systems are set to water on certain days of the week and for certain periods of time. And this is not the way to water lawns.

In fact, these watering systems are responsible for creating very shallow lawn root systems which then become more susceptible to heat stress on hot Summer days. As a result, many lawns in Perth become highly sick, brown and dehydrated very quickly as soon as the heat sets in for the Summer.

In addition to this, if the lawn is receiving too much water from programmed reticulation systems, then the lawn will always experience excessive growth, which then requires more lawn mowing, and more scalping from this same lawn mowing, its a vicious cycle.

The very best thing for Perth lawn owners to do is to turn off their automatic watering schedules forever, and instead monitor their lawns health for signs of when it needs a drink, and then to water the lawn manually through their reticulation control box.

This will create far more water efficient lawns with far deeper roost systems, which not only need less water, but are also far more drought and heat tolerant, and will remain greener throughout the year, and require less lawn mowing.

Cylinder Lawn Mowers

The other problem for lawns in Perth occurs from the use of Cylinder lawn mowers which are used by lawn mowing contractors.

At this point we need to jump in and say that Cylinder Lawn Mowers are not the problem here! In fact Perth homeowners are the most fortunate in Australia to have their lawns mowed with these wonderful machines which produce a stunning finish to the lawn.

The problems with these machines are entrenched in the past, in times when commercial cylinder lawn mowers didn't have height adjusters, and in times when homeowners wanted a bowling green finish to their lawns.

And these habits and expectations from homeowners and the ongoing presence of older machines without height adjusters continue to create lawns which are far too short, and this is where the problems lie.

Lawn Mowing Heights For Perth

Lawns in Perth are often mowed at heights of around 9 - 14 mm, and while this may be perfect for bowling greens which are intensively managed, these heights are not suitable for home lawns.

Lawns which are cut this short require far more watering and far more fertiliser than if the lawn were cut higher. On top of this, these low cut lawns are are highly susceptible to heat damage in Summer, and highly susceptible to invasion of weeds and diseases.

And while the bowling greens and golf courses are intensively managed to control these problems which occur in lawns which are cut this low, the homeowner simply cannot do these things, and as a result Perth lawn owners often experience a lot of problems with their lawns.

Lawn Changes For Perth

Perth homeowners need to break out of habits of days gone by and begin to manage their lawns at correct heights for home lawns, and many times this may mean switching to using a rotary lawn mower, or changing lawn mowing contractors who have machines with height adjusters and to begin cutting lawns at more suitable heights of between 25 - 50 mm.

By doing this, they can decrease water usage, decrease lawn diseases, decrease heat stress and yellowing to lawns, decrease lawn pest problems and have a greener and healthier lawn all year round.