Mowing Guidelines

Check out our Mowing Guidelines for a healthy and high-definition lawn! Turf HD is here to help with any of your lawn care needs!

Use a 3.5" - 4" Mowing Height

Tall fescue prefers a mowing height of 3.5″ – 4″.  This mowing height is ideal for reducing weed pressure within the turf-stand.  Lower mowing heights can severely stress a lawn, causing it to burn out, and will cause your turf to thin over time.  Higher mowing heights will cause the leaf blades to flop over, which reduces the aesthetic appeal of the lawn.

Never Mow More Than 1/3 of The Leaf Blade At Any One Mowing

Mowing more than 1/3 of the leaf blade during a mowing event is likely to cause scalping injury to the turf and reduce turf vigor.  A common sign of turf scalping is a white to yellow-brown discoloration of the affected turf.  A white sheen near the tips of the leaf blades may also be seen right after mowing occurs.

Make Sure Your Mower Blades Are Sharpened

Dull mower blades can cause significant physical injury to your turf, causing a multitude of issues ranging from discoloration to increased pest/disease activity in your lawn.  It is important to mow your blades at least once annually, or more if needed.

To Mulch Or Not To Mulch?

When possible, we recommend mulching your grass blades back into the lawn.  However, please be very careful to follow the 1/3 rule mentioned above.  Short clippings will break down quickly, helping to recycle nutrients back into your lawn.  Longer clippings take longer to break down and speed up thatch build-up.  Thatch layers in excess of 1/2″ will likely increase levels of pest and disease activity, reduce the ability of water and nutrients being able to reach the soil layer, and increase the risk of drought and cold stress.

Reviews
5 Star Review

My first few years in Charlottesville I went through a couple of the standard lawn service companies but none of them compared well to my previous experiences before moving here. I talked to the owner of Turf HD to determine whether we had the same philosophies. I sensed that we did so I decided give him a year. Here we are 3 years later with a lawn that has improved greatly. If I have a question I send an email and they get back to me with an honest and thorough answer. What more could ask from a company? Very satisfied .

N
Main Office
5 Star Review

They provide a variety of services and explained all my options. They provide a schedule for the various services and provide the services on time. My lawn looks so much better this year!

Susan Thomas
Main Office
5 Star Review

Richard and his crew saved my front lawn The lawn was dying and Turf HD brought it back to life. Richard and his crew are very responsive to any concern or problem that might arise and addresses what needs to be done immediately.

Ronald Granitz
Main Office
5 Star Review

Turf HD is a class-act service. They are prompt in communication and very effective at what they do! We built a home in albemarle county and were left with red clay dirt around our house even after multiple attempts to seed myself. I should have called Turf HD from the beginning. Now we have green grass in the middle of winter!

Jason Kelts
Main Office
4 Star Review

Have used them for many years. Hard-working and very responsive to trying to work with you.

DAVE HUGHES
Main Office
5 Star Review

They did what they contracted to do and sent an email detailing what had been done, what product(s) were applied, for what reason, and who did the job; for each and every application. Second, they made sure that various lawn fungi were controlled and did not destroy my lawn. Third, my lawn looks fabulous - Spring, Summer, Fall. Fourth - aeration was done with a deep penetrating machine, followed up with through seeding. Lastly - the price was more than fair!! All in all - highly recommend Turf HD.

Tom Worosz
Main Office
5 Star Review

I have used two different companies in Charlottesville for this service and it's not even funny how much better Turf HD is all of them. I have always had trouble growing consistent grass and whatever they have put down and completely changed-over my lawn and WAY faster than I would have thought. They are also really nice people which I like.

Doug Trout
Main Office
5 Star Review

This was one of the best experiences we have had in the 30 years living here. Friendly, excellent communications, always here when they say they would be, dependable, and reliable. My lawn was a complete disaster in spring 2022. By October, I actually had a beautiful lawn which had been 80% weeds. I will use them in the spring 2023. Highly highly recommend.

Alan Cohn
Main Office
5 Star Review

They are absolutely terrific to work with!! Results prove it easily. My lawn has gone from poor to outstanding in just one year. I’m hooked!

Beryl Glover
Main Office
5 Star Review

Most pleasant to deal with, work done exactly as specified, beautiful lawn! Just like Harry Truman used to say: Tell 'em what you're going to tell 'em, then tell 'em, then tell 'em what you told 'em.

Joanne Foster
Main Office
5 Star Review

Without a doubt this is THE best lawn care service hands down. Over the years we had used several different lawn care services or done DIY. None came close to the extraordinary results of Turf HD. Our lawn technician Richard is THE most knowledgeable lawn maintenance expert I know. He knows what specifically a lawn needs and the proof is in the results you get after he does the prescribed application. If you want a green healthy lawn Turf HD is the ONE.

Fog Dog
Main Office
5 Star Review

We have been with TurfHD for a while now. They have transformed our lawn into a thick stand of grass while also being very careful with the environment. We really appreciate their work ethic and knowledge!

Cindy Schoeffel
Main Office