{"id":21968,"date":"2023-05-03T13:41:05","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T17:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/?p=21968"},"modified":"2023-05-03T13:43:31","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T17:43:31","slug":"is-no-mow-may-beneficial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/05\/03\/is-no-mow-may-beneficial\/","title":{"rendered":"Is “No-Mow May” beneficial?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question:<\/h3>\n

I heard that “No-mow May” is more harmful than reducing the amount of mowing, or “Low-mow May”, which would increase the number of pollinator plants in the lawn.\u00a0 Which is correct?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Answer:<\/h3>\n
Lynne Holland, Horticulture and Social Media Professional\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n

The answer to your questions of no-mow vs low-mow May is that “It depends.”.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0purpose of both is to lessen the mowing in spring.\u00a0 By letting the grass grow a little before we are\u00a0past the potential\u00a0for frost we allow the pollinators who wintered in the “duff layer” of the lawn to get more time to begin their progression into the summer and give them protection should we have cold nights.\u00a0 In addition, many annual\/perennial flowering weeds get a chance to bloom so that is food for the pollinators.\u00a0 In an especially dry spring in my yard, I don’t mow until about June 10th and I have forget-me-nots, bluets, dandelions, and clover all blooming.\u00a0 There is even a patch of thyme that has flourished and when we mow, we mow around it.<\/p>\n

The downside is that in lawns that have been richly fertilized, there is the potential for such lush growth that when you do mow you end up with thick clumps of grass that might then mold or you could have the potential for tick habitat.<\/p>\n

If you have been regularly fertilizing your lawn, using a lawn service, or using a pre-emergent weed killer then mow in May when the grass gets 4″+ and mow higher (3″-4″)\/less often.<\/p>\n

If you have a lawn that is “lean” (no lawn service\/regular weed and feed applications) and don’t mind the look of a few “weeds” in the grass then\u00a0go for No-Mow\u00a0May<\/a> and enjoy the rewards of pollinators and wildflowers.\u00a0 Then mow high and less often starting in June.\u00a0 Or consider doing different things in different parts of your lawn.\u00a0 At our house our side and front lawns are small so we mow in May but the whole backyard is left to the pollinators.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: I heard that “No-mow May” is more harmful than reducing the amount of mowing, or “Low-mow May”, which would increase the number of pollinator plants in the lawn.\u00a0 Which is correct?\u00a0 Answer: Lynne Holland, Horticulture and Social Media Professional\u00a0 The answer to your questions of no-mow vs low-mow May is that “It depends.”. The\u00a0purpose […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199,206],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ask","category-lawns"],"yoast_head":"\nIs "No-Mow May" beneficial? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2023\/05\/03\/is-no-mow-may-beneficial\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is "No-Mow May" beneficial? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Question: I heard that “No-mow May” is more harmful than reducing the amount of mowing, or “Low-mow May”, which would increase the number of pollinator plants in the lawn.\u00a0 Which is correct?\u00a0 Answer: Lynne Holland, Horticulture and Social Media Professional\u00a0 The answer to your questions of no-mow vs low-mow May is that “It depends.”. 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