Proper cutting height depends on the type of grass you are growing.
Turf grass wants to be cut higher than warm season grasses like bermuda
and centipede, however no grass likes to be scalped. If you will look
at a blade of grass you will typically see that the stalk that comes out
of the ground is yellow or white. As you move up the blade it becomes
more and more green. If you are cutting anywhere near the yellow/white
part of the grass blade you are way too low and likely to severely stunt
or kill your lawn. I see more lawns damaged by cutting too low than
just about anything else. I hear two reasons that people give for
cutting low:

1.) "If I cut it real low I don't have to mow as often." This is true,
but the reason you don't have to cut it often is that you are damaging
the plant and are stunting it's growth. In the extreme you won't have
to cut it at all since you will have killed it.

2.) "By cutting it low I am making the lawn spread out and become
thicker". I'm not a expert by any means but this just seems to be a
myth. I have never seen a lawn that was consistently cut low be
healthier, lusher, or fill in sparse areas versus a lawn that was cut at
a reasonable height. In fact just the opposite is true by my
observations. These lawns are stressed and when the first adverse
condition arises (high heat, mild drought, insect or fungal attack)
these lawns seem to be the first to go. I find this to be particularly
true when you get into the drier summer months. A very low cut yard has
essentially had much of the shade it would normally provide the ground
removed and turbulent ground level air is unimpeded. This results in
the ground drying out at a much faster rate than normal.

raizn4kids wrote:

Wow, Really? I am not being sarcastic, I am just amazed. Now I live in SE
N.C. and have centipede(sp?) grass and it does not get very high, so I guess
I am wondering if I should let it grow more or not. I just about scalp my
lawn in comparison as to how high you cut yours. I have a riding mower and
set it about 3 on the hight and mow about every 9 days or so. Should I
change?
TIA.

"Steveo" wrote in message
...

"RB" wrote:

What is the correct cutting height to set mower blades at to have a nice
thick lawn? Seems the idea would be to have it where you can look at the
yard and know it's been mowed.


I cut at 2.5 inches twice a week.