Gardeners are being urged to mow lawns on the highest setting after summer droughts, rather than cutting grass short, to encourage healthy autumn growth.
Gardening expert and TikTok creator Ish advised fellow gardeners to avoid cutting grass all the way back, especially as gardens recover from drought. In a video caption, he wrote: “With a drought long behind us this year, we can look at getting the lawn back into shape. It’s tempting to want to mow your lawn back to a short length, but for now it’s best to set the height to the highest setting and only remove a little bit.”
How to mow lawns after a drought
During drought, grass stops growing and turns brown, entering dormancy. While top growth dies or turns crispy, deep roots stay alive underground to keep the grass alive. With cooler temperatures and rain, brown blades may turn green again.
Ish said: “After a few days of rain, you may notice that your lawn is starting to come back to life, and it’s growing quite vigorously. And the first thing you may want to do is mow it as short as possible, get it nice and manicured all over again. But hold your horses because you don’t want to stress it out.”
Reduce stress and retain moisture
He advised resisting the temptation to cut all the grass off, as it risks the grass not growing back healthier—or even at all. When mowing, set the mower to its highest setting and cut only about a third of the way down. Ish explained that cutting on the highest setting “reduces the amount of stress” to the lawn.
He recommended mowing on the highest setting for a few weeks, then slowly reducing the setting to cut lower. Cutting grass lower bit by bit helps it last longer than mowing it all off at once. He said: “You won’t get those lime green patches where it’s stressed out.”
He continued: “Mowing your lawn on the highest setting also helps prevent it from stressing out if you have any future droughts, because you’re keeping it at the longest possible height. What you actually do is create a nice shade barrier underneath, which locks in even more moisture. When it starts getting a little bit cooler, sure thing, bring it down a little bit lower, keep it nice and manicured. But for now, if you want a lovely lawn, just leave your mower a little bit higher.”
