Petrol mowing heights.

Why do most standard petrol rotary mowers have a lowest hight of around 25mm whilst electric / flymo seem to go down to 12/10mm. I want to get a shorter cut but my mountfield will achieve 25mm lowest. I thought a petrol mower was the better option when I purchased it last year.

Any advice?

 

Why do you want to mow your lawn short?
25mm is the absolute minimum I would recommend for any domestic lawn. Any lower and you are condemning your grass to a slow death.
You don't have the same grass as a bowling green or golf course.
http://www.lawnsciencesouthmanchester.co.uk/blog/are-you-mowing-your-lawn-too-short/

 

Maybe he has? ... I tried once - bought the finest grass seed, and thought I'd have a really impressive lawn ... never managed to get it to do anything even half decent. Resowed it with some perennial ryegrass after a couple of years of "trying"

 

Well I thought that short bowling green like grass was something most people aimed for. A friend of mine cuts his at 12mm and it looks nice, (although never as green as mine). I just found it strange how petrol mowers don't go as low as some cheapy electric ones.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned cheapy electric mowers. To get a lawn to bowling green standards takes a lot of care and a lot of money

 

Might just be the brand of petrol mower you have? My posh petrol cylinder will go very low.

I think there are two routes available

Sow a "fine" grass seed (with no perennial ryegrass). Feed it well, mow it short, and often, and pamper it. It will look just like a bowling green, once you have mastered how You will need to over-seed it frequently, as those fine grasses don't tiller, so they don't thicken up by themselves (like "ordinary" grasses do). All in all a lot of work, but no doubting it will look amazing - once you have become expert. A lot of Time and Effort required though.

Or ... sow normal grass and cut it long. The "squares" in the colleges in Cambridge do this. Everyone raves about them - the grass looks amazing, the stripes are pin-stripe sharp, the grass is a lovely dark green, not a weed in sight ... but the one thing it isn't is "short". In fact I always find it surprising how long it is. It is cut with a cylinder mower, with a roller, which is how they get the stripes

I think you have some rubbish [rough/tough] grass varieties in your lawn, which is part of your problem, and I also think that mowing them frequently and relatively short will "see them off" over time - but it would also be fair to say that if you spray the whole lot with Roundup, kill the lot, prepare the soil well, and then seed with a good general purpose seed mixture you will then have the makings of a great lawn. Its a lot of work to re-sow the lawn (same amount of preparation work if you want to re-turf it), if it were me I would try to "convert" it first, and only give up on that if it doesn't respond quickly enough

 

Just to clarify, just sowing any "fineturf" seed won't be enough either. That also won't be able to survive low mowing.
For a specific greens application, you need to sow a specific cultivar which has been bred for that purpose, which usually consists of a mix of "bent" grasses. These are not cheap, and certainly not available at B&Q or Wilkos.
e.g.
http://www.rigbytaylor.com/Shop+by+...lend+for+Golf++Bowling+Greens_0322105-020.htm

 

I have a Mountfield rotary mower. I'm cutting it at 25mm ever 5 days. Got it looking nice enough for this year but all the corse grass seems to let it down. I over seeded in April

 

My Wilkos does! i.e. sells "fine" grass seed (without ryegrass). Gawd knows why, as I am sure that a lot of unsuspecting punters buy it thinking that it will give them a "really nice lawn" ... without appreciating the work involved; people buying it are going to be in for a big disappointment.

Having said that, there are probably some "fine" seed mixes that are reasonably OK for an amateur ... but I'm still doubting that they are suitable for Mr Average Wilko Shopper :(

 

The front looks nice the shot of the back from upstairs is exactly what I was expecting, from your description. nice and green, but not looking as smart as maybe you would like?

Its certainly not as rough as I was expecting, and you are already overseeding ...

Would you consider a cylinder instead of the rotary?

(Blades on the rotary are sharp, right?)

 

Fine lawn seed sold in the shops is mostly fescue based. This is what they class as a "fine lawn". i.e. grass with a slender, needle-like leaf. It still needs to be cut long.
That's not the same as a putting green grass.

 

Interesting, thanks Kris.

Either way, I've tried "fine" grass once and I just don't have the time & effort to get it looking really smart, and the short perennial ryegrass mixes seem a lot easier to me.

I do buy a decent "Mix", so perhaps there are some cheaper? mixes out there that include some varieties less desirable for a half decent lawn?

 

I'm new to the idea of having and blending different seeds. Iv only ever known the rolawn medallion and minster pro. So is the monster pro a bent fine grass?? Also iv looked at petrol cylinder mowers but they seem mega expensive. It's defiantly looking better than before I started.

 

With turf there are very few "seed mixes" available ... probably "Normal", "Plush" and "Shady" is it for sale to amateurs ...

I've bought seed from both these - both were good:

http://www.bostonseeds.com/products/1/Grass-Seeds/1/Lawn-Seeds/
(I notice that they have a Slow Growing seed mix - that might suit you?!!)
http://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/shop/grass-seed

If cost is the only issue (i.e. you would be prepared to use a cylinder mower, and are prepared to wait) then might be worth keeping an eye out on Freecycle, and eBay, for one in your area. With patience bargains are to be had