You will know if your lawn is ready for mowing when you can’t lift the turf from the soil bed below. If it still comes away easily then wait a little longer. During the warmer months the grass will take quickly and during the winter months more slowly.
As a general rule mow your new lawn between 7-10 days from installation if installing in an active growing period, (if laying in winter this timeframe will not be so frequent, once a month is usually sufficient).
Close mowing leads to sun scorching and root damage in summer and reduced vigour in winter. If grass is allowed to grow too long, cutting will expose brown stems giving a scalped appearance. The lawn will look patchy, recovery will be slow, weed growth will be encouraged and thatch will develop. A height between 12mm and 20mm is suitable for most lawns, fine grasses being cut closer than coarse grasses. The aim is to avoid removing more than one third of the leaf material at any one mowing.
Frequency of cutting depends on the type of lawn, how well it is growing and the time of year. Lawn grasses recommended for WA conditions grow rapidly in summer and very slowly in winter. We recommend the use of a reel mower which produces a finer and neater cut than a rotary mower.