Reel lawn mowers provide a wonderful finish to our lawns. That beautiful flat finish that we see on bowling greens is due to the lawns being mowed with a reel lawn mower, and today, many homeowners are choosing reel mowers for the very high quality of finish they provide to our lawns. However, if we’re choosing to purchase a new reel mower
for use on a Saint Augustine lawn, then there is one special consideration which will need to be kept in mind for the Saint Augustine grass type.
Reel Lawn Mower Considerations for Saint Augustine Grass
There is really only one consideration when using a reel lawn mower on St Augustine lawns, and that one consideration is lawn mowing heights.
Saint Augustine grass are best cut at heights between 1 to 4+ inches to remain in optimum condition, especially in partial shade conditions.
This is in contrast to other lawn types like Bermudagrass which are cut with reel mowers at heights of around half an inch, and these low heights should never be used on Saint Augustine grass as they promote poor Saint Augustine lawn health, risk of invasion by disease and weeds, and can keep a Saint Augustine lawn looking a pale green color.
The most common mistake which owners of soft St Augustine lawns make when using a reel lawn mower is to try and achieve the 'bowling green' look of a very low cut lawn.
And Saint Augustine Grass is just not designed to be kept at these very short mowing heights, especially not the new soft leaf varieties.
Raise Reel Lawn Mowing Heights For Saint Augustine Grass
Saint Augustine lawns really do look stunning when they are cut with reel lawn mowers.
To keep a Saint Augustine lawn in its peak condition when using a reel lawn mower, we simply need to raise the cutting height of the machine to that suited to keep Saint Augustine in optimum health, and that premium height is between 1 to 4+ inches, leaving the grass with a longer leaf blade.
Modern reel lawn mower manufacturers all have easy fingertip height adjustment, which can raise or lower the cutting height of the mower in less than 2 seconds by simply turning a knob. These mowers would be a good choice to keep a Saint Augustine lawn at its optimum height, while producing the stunning finish which only a Reel Lawn Mower can produce.
