The Best Time to Stop Mowing Your Lawn Before Winter

The winter months are often quieter in our gardens, but there are still a few important tasks to tick off.

A common question is when to stop mowing the lawn for winter. Cutting the grass during wintertime can make it brittle, especially when frosted or wet. It's best to stop mowing early enough to give your grass a good chance of establishing height for winter protection.

When to stop mowing the lawn for winter and why?

"You'll know it's time to stop mowing when the grass simply stops growing. That usually happens around late October, though it varies depending on the region and the weather," Simon Wilkinson, an RHS Award-winning horticulturalist and owner of Wilkinsons Landscapes, tells Country Living.

Once the soil temperature drops below 50ºF degrees, the lawn enters a kind of dormancy where it doesn’t grow at all.

"People often push on with mowing because they think it's about keeping things tidy. But at this time of year, it's more important to protect the lawn and get it ready for the next year, rather than to perfect it. Cutting too late, especially when the grass is wet or frosty, can bruise the blades and compact the soil, and that's a recipe for a patchy, tatty lawn next spring.

When should you mow your lawn for the last time in winter?

Simon tells us: "I always recommend a final cut before the first frost – but leave a bit more length than you would during the peak summer months. Around 1 1/2 inches allows enough height that it can insulate the lawn’s roots, while still allowing light and air to circulate.

“While you might be tempted to dig out lawn feed and fertilizer, winter lawn care is mostly about knowing when to leave it alone. The lawn needs rest, not interference.

More winter lawn care tips

Before we put the garden to bed for winter, what else can we do to improve our lawn?

"If your lawn has fared badly this summer, September is a good time to spend a couple of hours restoring the lawn: scarify, aerate, overseed, and apply an autumn feed. Organic options include seaweed meal, bone meal, or poultry pellets," Mike Carthew from Garden Footprint tells us.

"It's also the perfect moment to tuck in bulbs such as pheasant’s eye daffodils, snakeshead fritillaries or primroses so they naturalize and flower through the turf next year. If you're anything like me, you'll forget you did this and then have a stunning surprise in spring."

Plus, it's also a good idea to trim the edges of your lawn.

Samantha Richards, garden gazebo expert at Gazeboshop, says: "With the accelerated growth your grass experiences in summer, autumn is the perfect time to trim back overgrown edges to keep your lawn looking neat and tidy," says Samantha. "The edges, when looked after, will provide a barrier for plant roots, stopping flowers or weeds from growing into your lawn."

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