Mowing in the Australian spring is hard mainly because of the number one mistake: letting it get too long. Let Kikuyu or couch get three weeks ahead and you’ll have a lawn you can’t recover without turning it brown for weeks. The one-third rule prevents this: never remove more than one-third of the grass blade. How often you need to mow for each of these varies based on your city and grass type.
If you don’t want to think about it, you can always book a lawn mowing service near you through Urgent Pro for a consistent, worry-free mowing schedule.
This article tells you how often to mow different grasses depending on the season. Use this information as a guideline and be aware that local climate differences can make a variety grow faster or slower than average.
| Grass Variety | Spring | Summer | Autumn | Winter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kikuyu | Weekly | Weekly | Every 2 weeks | Every 4 weeks |
| Couch (Qld Blue Couch) | Weekly | Weekly | Every 2 weeks | Every 3 to 5 weeks |
| Buffalo (Sir Walter, Palmetto) | Weekly | Weekly | Every 2 weeks | Every 3 to 5 weeks |
| Buffalo (Sapphire) | Every 2 weeks | Weekly to Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks | Every 4 to 6 weeks |
| Zoysia | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks | Every week to 2 weeks | Every 4 to 6 weeks |
| Ryegrass (cool-season, VIC and S. NSW) | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks | Every month |
Three things to keep in mind as you read the table
Kikuyu grows the fastest of this group. During a warm wet spring in Brisbane or Sydney it can grow too quickly to wait till the scheduled day to mow if it gets over 60mm.
Zoysia is by far the slowest of the warm season grasses. Because of this it is actually a lower maintenance option for larger lawns.
Ryegrass behaves completely differently from the other grasses.
It is a cool-season grass that is common in Victoria and southern New South Wales, either as a sole lawn or as a winter overseeding on a couch lawn. Similar to warm-season grasses, ryegrass goes dormant during the summer months. Where it differs is that ryegrass stays active during the winter months.
How Each Season Changes the Schedule
Spring (September to November)
Spring is the most important time of the year for mowing. Soil temperatures rise, and warm-season grasses come out of dormancy quickly. With Kikuyu and couch, allowing it to go for a fortnight can result in an overgrown lawn that is very hard to bring back to height without scalping.
Warm-season grasses also go dormant during the winter months, so from early September in Queensland and the Gold Coast, and October in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, mowing should return to weekly. For the first two or three cuts after winter, allow the grass to grow to a slightly higher height before lowering it to the summer height, in order to remove winter damage and to encourage new growth.
Mowing bookings on the Urgent Pro network roughly double for the three month period between September and November in all five of the major cities.
Summer (December to February)
Kikuyu, couch, and buffalo grasses are mowed weekly during summer.
While grass grows quickly and becomes unruly during wet weather, the dry spells of summer can also hurt your lawn. During these extended dry periods, you can push your cuts out to ten days without your lawn becoming unruly. You can’t skip mowing during a dry spell though. Rain can come at any time, and your lawn can quickly become overgrown, especially if it’s already hot and dry.
You should try to avoid mowing during the heat of the day. Temperatures in the 30s and above really stress the grass plants, and mowing in that heat is unnecessary.
There is an interaction between watering and mowing that most homeowners don’t think about. Some say that, when mowing, you should think about watering. The Queensland Government’s lawn care guide says that watering your lawn should be thought of like gardening, where watering deeply and less often is better for the lawn and helps the root system grow deeper into the soil. Deep, infrequent watering means less frequent mowing. Daily or shallow watering means that the root system does not reach as deep into the soil, and mowing becomes necessary more often.
Autumn (March to May)
During the cooler months of the year, the climate slows the growth of your lawn. As the days get shorter, so does your mowing schedule. You can push your mowing intervals out to 14 days by the beginning of March. Towards the end of April, you can push your mowing schedule out further by raising your cut height and leaving more of the grass blade. Leaving more of the blade helps it retain moisture in the soil, and helps the lawn come through the winter in better condition.
Do not apply nitrogen fertiliser in the autumn, as it will promote a growth flush right before the lawn goes dormant for the winter and weaken the lawn for the cold. Fertiliser timing is one part of what lawns need beyond regular mowing.
Winter (June to August)
Grass on the Gold Coast and Brisbane grows quickly during the winter. In these regions, fast-growing grasses may need to be cut every three to four weeks during June and July.
Mowing should not be stopped completely. A light trim every three to five weeks will keep your lawn looking good and prevent the leaf blades from falling over. Lighter mowing will also prevent weeds from taking over your lawn.
Ryegrass continues to need regular mowing during winter, as it remains actively growing. This is the case for lawns in Victoria and southern New South Wales as well.
How Your City Affects the Schedule
Because grass growth varies depending on climate, mowing frequency can vary as well. The Bureau of Meteorology has defined climate zones for Australia. Grass growth can follow very different patterns based on which zone it is located in. In the five cities Urgent Pro serves, these variances can change mowing frequency by one full category in either direction.
Mild winters prevent warm season grasses from going fully dormant, and as a result, they require a moderate amount of upkeep even during the cooler months.
Sydney and Melbourne have four well-defined seasons, and warm-season grasses follow these seasons closely. In Melbourne, significant ryegrass use, either as a primary lawn variety or as a winter overlay on couch, means that some lawns there continue to require cuts even when the warm-season grass has gone dormant.
Once seasonal changes make managing a schedule difficult, the stress of making frequent decisions is alleviated by hiring a professional mowing service in your area.
A gradual lowering of the height over the first few cuts of the mowing season is standard practice among most experienced providers in each of the five cities.
Tidying Up a Rental Garden
Anyone managing a rental garden usually underestimates the level of garden inspection expected at the end of a tenancy. More often than not, the lawn is also included in a property condition report. At end-of-tenancy inspections, a landlord expects the garden to be in the condition recorded at the start of the tenancy. Understanding the garden inspection requirements from the first month of tenancy can prevent a last-minute panic to repair a lawn that has been left unkempt all year.
The cost of regular lawn mowing in Australia guide provides pricing across all five cities and can assist in determining the full cost of using a lawn care service compared to doing it yourself over a lawn mowing season.
Urgent Pro verifies all local service providers in Perth, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney and Melbourne and you can browse all home services on Urgent Pro.
FAQs
How often should I mow my lawn in Australia?
Most warm-season grasses need a weekly mow from spring through summer, every two weeks in autumn, and a monthly trim through winter. Cool-season grasses like ryegrass keep growing through winter and need regular cuts year-round.
Does the grass variety affect how often I need to mow?
Kikuyu grows fast and requires mowing weekly during spring and summer. Zoysia is slower, and mowing every two weeks during the growing season is sufficient. In winter, Zoysia requires mowing every four to six weeks.
Should I mow in winter?
Yes, but less often. During winter, warm season grasses get lighter, and weeds can take over. To avoid this, maintain a light trim every three to five weeks. If the grass has completely stopped growing, mowing is not needed. Cool season grasses and ryegrass continue to grow during winter and require regular mowing.
What happens if I let the lawn get too long between mows?
A lawn that is neglected can get very long, and the lower part of the grass turns pale. Scalping the lawn causes the lower part to turn brown and stresses the lawn. Stress can last for several weeks. To bring a very long lawn back to its target height, it is best to mow it a few times at gradually shorter heights.
How often should Kikuyu grass be mowed?
Kikuyu grass is the fastest growing lawn in Australia. It requires weekly mowing from spring to summer and fortnightly mowing in the autumn. During the cooler months it can be mowed monthly. Kikuyu lawns in Queensland and the Gold Coast may still require mowing every three to four weeks.