Biggest lawn care mistakes to avoid in winter explained by expert

An expert has warned of a common mistake many gardeners could be making when it comes to cutting the grass in the winter months - and it could be damaging to both the grass and the soil

During the winter months, many of us might ease off on our gardening efforts, but keeping your lawn in tip-top shape is still achievable.

You might not be able to mow as frequently as in the summer, but your grass could still need the odd trim. However, an expert has flagged up a common blunder that gardeners might be making when it comes to cutting their lawns.

Nick Ee, product and training manager at Black + Decker, has specifically warned against cutting the blades "too short" which could harm both the grass and the soil beneath. He advised: "In winter mowing the grass isn't usually necessary, unless the weather is mild, and grass is still growing excessively.

"If this is the case, I would recommend cutting the grass occasionally on a high cut setting. Mowing the grass too short is one of the biggest lawn care mistakes to make especially in winter. Shorter grass can look more uniform but when the blades are cut too short it can leave plants malnourished and open to diseases. Longer blades of grass help shade the soil underneath which means it takes a lot longer for moisture to evaporate."

The Royal Horticultural Society suggests keeping your lawn up to four centimetres long during autumn and spring, but trimmed down to 2.5cm in the hotter months. As a rule of thumb, they advise to "never" chop off more than a third of the grass's height in one go, reports the Express.

Nick also warned that cutting the grass when it's wet, soft, or frozen is a bad idea. "You should never cut the grass when it's wet, soft, or frozen as this increases the spread of weeds and fungal diseases that can occur in excessive rainfall," he explained.

"Wet grass also tends to accumulate around the lawn mower's moving parts, which leads to clogging and poor engine performance." He recommended waiting until spring, when the grass is drier, to mow.