Bermuda grass is a warm-season turf known for its aggressive, fast-spreading nature. Unlike cool-season grasses such as fescue or bluegrass, Bermuda grass thrives under specialized, low-cut maintenance. A precise mowing regimen is necessary to achieve a dense, healthy Bermuda lawn. Keeping the grass low encourages lateral growth, promoting a thick, carpet-like appearance and establishing the foundation for overall turf health.
Essential Equipment and Preparation
The choice of mower impacts the ability to maintain the desired low height. Rotary mowers can maintain residential Bermuda lawns between 1.5 and 2.5 inches. However, a reel mower is often necessary to achieve ultra-low cutting heights, typically between 0.5 and 1.5 inches. The reel mechanism slices the grass blades cleanly, providing a superior cut quality at these lower settings compared to the tearing action of a rotary blade.
Maintaining sharp blades is essential for turf health. A dull blade tears the grass tissue instead of cleanly slicing it, resulting in frayed, brown tips. This damaged tissue creates an entry point for disease pathogens and increases susceptibility to drought stress. Blades should be sharpened regularly, ideally after every 8 to 10 hours of use, to ensure a clean cut that promotes rapid healing.
Before cutting, the mower deck must be checked for levelness to ensure uniformity. An uneven deck will scalp high spots and leave others too tall, leading to an inconsistent appearance and turf stress. Use a ruler or gauge to measure the distance from the blade tip to a hard, level surface at multiple points on the deck. Adjusting the deck height ensures the grass is cut uniformly.
Optimal Mowing Technique and Frequency
For routine maintenance, Bermuda grass performs best when kept between 1 and 2.5 inches during the active growing season. Maintaining the grass at the lower end of this range promotes greater density and finer leaf texture. Allowing the grass to grow taller decreases density, leads to a coarser texture, and makes the turf more prone to weed invasion.
Mowing frequency is directly tied to the “One-Third Rule.” This rule dictates that no more than one-third of the grass blade height should be removed in any single session. During peak summer growth, this often necessitates mowing two to three times per week to prevent excessive removal. Removing too much leaf material at once stresses the plant and depletes the energy reserves necessary for quick recovery.
Changing the mowing pattern encourages upright growth and prevents turf damage. Mowing repeatedly in the same direction can create visible ruts and cause the grass blades to lean permanently, creating a noticeable “grain.” Alternating the direction with each cut, such as a north-south pass followed by an east-west pass, promotes stronger, more uniform vertical growth.
Management of grass clippings depends on adherence to the one-third rule and lawn health. When the grass is cut frequently and the clippings are small, they should be mulched back into the turf to return nutrients to the soil. Bagging is necessary if the grass is too tall, resulting in large clumps, or if the lawn has an active fungal disease. Removing large clippings prevents them from smothering the underlying turf and ensures diseased material is taken away.
Seasonal Mowing Adjustments
The primary seasonal adjustment occurs in early spring, involving a process called scalping. This involves cutting the dormant, brown turf, often a half-inch lower than the desired summer height, just before the grass breaks dormancy. Scalping removes accumulated dead leaf material from the previous season, allowing sunlight to penetrate the soil and warm it more quickly. This practice encourages a more uniform and earlier green-up.
Adjustments are made as the growing season slows and dormancy approaches. Approximately four to six weeks before the first frost, the mowing height should be gradually raised by about half an inch. This higher cut allows the Bermuda grass blades to retain more surface area for photosynthesis, enabling the plant to store carbohydrates and energy reserves. These stored reserves provide insulation and allow the turf to survive the winter dormancy period.