As autumn begins in earnest with chilly mornings and cooler evenings, you may be looking forward to some downtime when it comes to garden chores. But it’s not time to put your lawn mower away just yet! “Homeowners tend to stop mowing too early, often following the first frost, believing that the cold snap signals the end of the growing season,” says Dan DiClerico, director of the Home Improvement and Outdoor Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute. “But that’s not always the case.”
First, you need to know what kind of grass you have so you know the best way to maintain your lawn:
- Warm-season grasses grow in southern climates, where summers are hot and dry or humid and winters are mild; these types of grass thrive in the heat but go dormant in the colder months.
- Cool-season grasses grow in northern climates where summers are mild and winters are cold; they grow vigorously in the cooler weather of spring and fall.
- You also may have a mixture of warm- and cool-season grasses if you live in the transition zone, which is roughly the mid-section of the country.
If you aren’t sure what type of grass you have, your local university cooperative extension service (find yours here) can help you ID it.
When to stop mowing depends on where you live and what type of grass you have. “Grasses respond to environmental cues such as a shorter number of daylight hours and cooler temperatures,” says Clint Waltz, Ph.D., turfgrass researcher and extension specialist at the University of Georgia. “For example, the growth rate of warm-season grasses, such as Zoysiagrass, Bermudagrass, centipede, and St. Augustine, slows down in the fall. You probably won’t need to mow as frequently as you did in the summer.”
When it comes to cool-season grasses, their growth rate kicks into high gear in autumn if conditions are right. “Don’t be too anxious to put the mower away in October,” says Peter Landschoot, Ph.D., professor emeritus of turfgrass science at Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences. “Depending on where you live in the north, cool-season grasses, such as Kentucky blue, fine fescue, tall fescue, and perennial rye, may continue to need mowing into late fall.”
Ahead, here’s how to tell when it’s okay to stop mowing your lawn this season.
How often to mow in fall
You usually need to tweak how frequently you’re mowing now, compared to earlier in the season. “With warm season grasses, you may mow every 5 to 10 days in July and August. But by fall, it will only need a haircut to keep it looking clean about every 10 to 14 days,” says Waltz. “You’re really just taking the tips off to make it look presentable.”
Cool-season grasses may need mowing more than once a week when your lawn is growing vigorously in early fall, though growth slows down later in the season. “If the foliage, or blades of grass, start to lay over, you should mow,” says Landschoot. “The key is to pay attention to what’s going on. Don’t just mow on a schedule.”
In the transition zone, where you may have a mixture of cool-and warm-season grasses, you’ll follow the same rules: Mow only when it needs it because it’s starting to look shaggy, not on a schedule.
When to stop mowing your lawn in fall
First, before you stop mowing for the season, remove heavy leaf cover. You can do this efficiently by mowing the leaves to mulch them up, which recycles the organic matter so that it doesn’t end up in a landfill. If you don’t want to mulch, “you should get all the whole leaves off the lawn so that it can continue to photosynthesize,” says Waltz. “Leaves also hold moisture. When the canopy is able to dry out, the lawn is not as susceptible to diseases.”
But don’t just pick a date for your last mow and call it quits. “Don’t follow the calendar. Watch your weather and your grass,” says Landschoot. “It’s a judgment call when to stop. However, you don’t want to leave cool-season grasses too tall so that they mat down over the winter.” This can lead to snow mold, which occurs where snow piles up, causing the grass to thin.
The bottom line is you can stop mowing when the grass doesn’t need it any more. “You can apply a lot of turf science to the decision, but this old rule is a pretty good guide: if it’s still growing, keep mowing,” says DiClerico. Otherwise, it’s fine to winterize your mower and wait for spring.
Arricca Elin SanSone is a writer, editor, and content creator who specializes in lifestyle and gardening. With a background in health reporting, she applies these same research skills when writing about the science of growing things. She trials new plants in her expansive garden, and her houseplant collection consists of 60+ varieties. Arricca has written thousands of articles for publications such as Country Living, House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, Prevention, VERANDA, Southern Living, and more. She’s happiest when digging in the dirt, baking, or spending time with the people and dogs she loves.
