Exact time gardeners should give lawn a 'final mow' before winter

According to the gardening experts, one of the most common blunders homeowners make is incorrectly timing the last lawn mow of the season. Mistiming your lawn's final trim could lead to suboptimal growth come spring.

The experts at Yell advise: "The final mow should align with the grass stopping its growth, typically between October and November, as temperatures drop."

They added: "However, with the fluctuating seasons and warmer winter sun now common in the UK, this can sometimes extend growth into December."

For the unseasonal green shoots, they suggest: "If your grass continues growing during winter, cut it once it exceeds three inches in height."

A critical tip provided is, "When mowing, avoid removing more than one-third of the grass at a time to maintain healthy growth."

Cutting too vigorously may weaken roots, leaving grass vulnerable in chilly weather. "For the healthiest and most sustainable lawn, a mowing height of 3.5 to four inches is ideal," say the specialists.

A higher cut tempers weed spread and insulates against the cold. Lastly, they stress the importance of other maintenance routines like lawn feeding and aeration, which hold "key roles" in nurturing a robust lawn, reports the Express.

Simon Akeroyd, head of estates and landscapes at Painshill Park, suggests: "One of the most effective ways of improving the quality of the lawn in autumn and part of the autumn lawn care maintenance programme, is to aerate it."

"Aeration helps to relieve compaction, increases drainage, which will reduce moss problems and increases airflow in the soil, which promotes healthier root system and therefore a better and denser sward of lawn on the surface."

"You can then brush top dressing into the holes left by the fork to improve the quality of the soil in the root zone of the lawn."

He also emphasizes the importance of scarifying for lawn health, which entails using a rake to remove thatch, or dead material, from the lawn's base.