Mow only when your lawn needs mowing. Your lawn doesn't know what day it is, nor does it care. Don't mow because it's Wednesday--mow because the lawn needs to be mowed. You may need to mow every three days or once a month, depending on moisture conditions. Don't mow a hot lawn or a stressed lawn--this will only cause more stress, and can cause permanent damage. Remember: living with a few tall spears of grass is much better than living with a dead lawn.

Keep the lawn at a healthy length. A typical lawn with mixed grass types should be kept at 2 to 2 1/2 inches during cool seasons. It should be kept at 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches during hot and/or dry seasons. Don't wait until it is very hot and dry before raising the mowing height in late spring--the damage will already have begun. The last mowing of the season should be at least 1 1/2 to 2 inches in order to discourage snow mold and winter kill.

Don't cut too much at once. Avoid cutting more than 1/3 of the grass blade off during one mowing. Sometimes this is unavoidable, either because of prolonged rainy weather, or when you go on vacation. In these rare cases, it might be necessary to mow again two days later to cut the grass that was laid down during the first mowing. Lower the height over two or three cuttings in the fall--don't go from 3 1/2 inches to 1 1/2 inches all in one mowing.

Mulching vs. Bagging. Grass clipping are 80% water--therefore, they will normally deteriorate and go away fairly quickly. In doing that, they put moisture and nutrients back into the lawn. Bagging is necessary if the lawn is too long and will cause unsightly grass clumps. Or if you know that your lawn has an active disease, bagging is a good idea--this keeps the disease from spreading. Remember: clippings do NOT add to thatch.