HINTS AND TIPS

Healthy Blades Healthy Lawn

 Sharp blades are one the most important factors in maintaining a healthy and beautiful lawn.

Sharply cut leaf blades increase turf health by improving recovery, decreasing water loss, and increasing photosynthesis. Lawns mown with a dull mower blade have poor aesthetics, heal more slowly and have greater water loss. Lawn Star recommend that homeowners replace their mower blades at least twice a year or more often for larger lawns. For commercial use blades should be replaced every 25 hours.

Dull blades pull and shred the grass rather than delivering a clean cut. The mowing quality is poor due to dull mower blades in images A and B as evidenced by the shredded leaf blades. Image D illustrates the symptoms of varying levels of mower sharpness. Leaf blade D1 demonstrates what a leaf blade should look like after mowing. Leaf blade D2 demonstrates a leaf blade that was injured by a dull mower blade. Leaf blade D3 was cut by the mower but indicates that the mower blade is not sharp enough. The white tissue sticking out of the leaf blades (D3 and D4) is the vascular tissue of the plant. Leaf blade D4 was mown for quite some time with a dull mower blade.