That translates into three-season "curb appeal." And ... into months and months of mowing.

From the lawn’s standpoint, all that mowing can be a good or bad thing.

The factor that decides the good-bad outcome can be what the homeowner believes about spring, summer and fall cutting heights. More often, however, mowing becomes bad management through a few small oversights or miscalculations – which can dramatically produce disappointing effects, said Matt Fagerness, Kansas State University horticulturist.

For example, sharp mower blades leave grass with small, clean cuts that heal quickly.

"Jagged cuts give the lawn a whitish hue. In fact, every year I hear about homeowners who have treated their torn-off turf, simply because it looks as if it must have a disease or insect problem," he said. "Of course, by exposing more tissue that takes longer to heal, the rip-it-off approach to lawn mowing does greatly increase the turf’s stress. That actually may increase your odds for pest problems."

Mower blades need sharpening after every 10 hours of use. Depending on the mowed area’s size, that usually translates into one to three times per year, said Fagerness, who is the turfgrass specialist for K-State Research and Extension.

"Never mow without checking blade condition – unless it’s the first cut of the year and you sharpened the blade when you prepared the mower for winter storage," he added. "You don’t need a precision job, with the blade honed to millimeter accuracy. But the edge should have no visible blemishes, and it should be filed out to a good point."

Another mowing basic is the one-third rule: Never remove more than one-third of the turf’s leaf height at any one mowing.

"The shorter the turf’s recommended height, the more often you have to cut. A one-half inch high cultivar in a lush golf fairway may need mowing every other day," Fagerness said. "Normally, though, you don’t want to cut bluegrass varieties any shorter than 2 to 2.5 inches. You want to keep fescue at least 3 to 3.5 inches tall. So, the one-third rule can mean mowing once a week during peak growing periods, such as April, May and October.

"This doesn’t mean you should cut your vacations short for the sake of the lawn. But, not following the one-third rule over time will produce a thin, stemmy grass stand, and it will deplete the lawn’s root system – the turf’s very basis for health."

A bonus of following the one-third rule is that it eliminates any need to remove clippings, even for homeowners without a mulching mower. Short clippings quickly shrivel, filter down and start adding organic matter to the turf’s soil, Fagerness said.

"Long clippings, on the other hand, can block so much sunlight that the grass turns yellow. Plus, they favor disease development," he warned.

Shorter in Spring, Fall?

Despite the one-third rule, turf managers also have evolved two schools of thought on mowing height for cool-season lawns. One promotes mowing lower in the spring and fall and raising the cutting height for summer. The other promotes mowing at the high end of the turf’s recommended range throughout the growing season.

Each strategy has pros and cons, Fagerness said.

The strongest support for mowing short during the cool seasons is the fact that it helps turf thicken up, increases its density. The strongest deterrent is another rule of thumb in turf circles: The shorter you mow, the shorter the root system.

"Hot, dry summer weather can damage or even kill a cool-season turf that has a shallow root system," the horticulturist said.

Always mowing high promotes deep root growth. As a side benefit, the longer grass leaves also create shade that keeps soil cooler in summer and interferes with weed seed germination throughout the growing season.

"You can get quite a bit of crabgrass control, for example, simply because of the shade created by a dense lawn, mowed on the high side," Fagerness said.

But, mowing high doesn’t promote dense turf the way that mowing short does.

Other arguments also surface in the mowing strategy debate:

* As Kansans’ favorite turfs green up, they’re short. So, removing a third of their height keeps them much shorter than the recommended range, yet causes no shock or distress.

* Mowing low in spring helps soil warm up faster and promotes early grass growth.

* Too often, homeowners forget to raise their lower springtime mowing height. Or, they don’t raise it early enough to give turf time to develop deep roots before summer.

"You also hear that short mowing helps lawns green up faster. But that’s as much a visual effect as a biological one," he said. "Close mowing does a good job of removing dead and dormant foliage left over from winter. It exposes the new growth underneath, so the lawn looks greener."

For all of these reasons, Fagerness recommends a compromise between the two approaches: Mow tall fescue or Kentucky bluegrass lawns to between 1 and 1.5 inches – but only once or twice, and no later than April. Then let the lawn grow to its recommended height range until October, to help combat weeds and grow roots. In late fall, again lower your mower a bit to aid in the lawn’s late-season move to produce tillers and thicker turf before winter.

"If there’s any chance you’ll forget this timing, however, just keep your mower set high," he said. "With cool-season turfs, you can have an acceptable lawn if you always mow high. You can have a thick, but dead lawn if you always mow low."