Part 5.2 Taking Proper Care of Your Lawn

It will be easier to keep your lawn healthy if the type of grass is suited to local growing conditions, which include rainfall amount, temperature, soil type and available height. Contact your local Cooperative Extension office or use the references at the end of this chapter for a list of recommended grasses for your region.

Cut your grass to the proper height

Mow your lawn regularly. A good rule of thumb is to remove no more than one-third of the grass height at any one mowing. For example, if you are maintaining your centipede lawn at 1.5 inches, mow the lawn when it is about 2 inches high. Cutting off more than one-third at one time can stop the roots from growing and would require frequent watering during dry summers to keep the plants alive. Also, following the one-third rule will produce smaller clippings which will disappear quickly by filtering down to the soil surface.