Top lawn mowers to maintain your grass (2024)

FAQs

Top lawn mowers to maintain your grass? ›

The Lifestory Research 2024 America's Most Trusted® Mower ranking is based on 6,263 opinions of people surveyed in the United States over the last 12 months. The most trusted mower brands, in order, were John Deere, Honda, Toro, Husqvarna, Craftsman, Troy-Bilt, Snapper, Cub Cadet, Black+Decker, Ryobi, Swisher, and Ego.

The Lifestory Research 2024 America's Most Trusted® Mower ranking is based on 6,263 opinions of people surveyed in the United States over the last 12 months. The most trusted mower brands, in order, were John Deere, Honda, Toro, Husqvarna, Craftsman, Troy-Bilt, Snapper, Cub Cadet, Black+Decker, Ryobi, Swisher, and Ego.

Using a mulching method of grass cutting is a great way of recycling the grass cuttings. Naturally, this adds vital nutrients to the soil and improves the quality of growth and texture of your lawn. Mulching lawn mowers do not collect the grass cuttings.

We recommend using the Husqvarna 122C grass trimmer — the perfect tool for quickly and effortlessly reducing the height of the grass by 50%. Avoid using a lawn mower on long grass, as it can hinder the blades from spinning and potentially overheat the motor.

Another option is to mow every other week and bag the clippings. This can reduce your mowing time by 50 percent, but you'll need to bag the clippings to maintain a clean look.

Above $400 you could be paying for gimmicks, but under $200 and you're missing out on mowers that mow right to the edge of a lawn, or mowers with mulching plugs. All in all, the experts recommend spending around $200 for a good mower. Whenever someone asks for a lawnmower recommendation, this is my choice.

Recommended Commercial Push Mowers: The 30-inch Toro TurfMaster HDX and Exmark Commercial 30 X Series are reliable and competitively priced mowers that will save you a LOT of mow time. For smaller yards or yards with access/obstruction issues, Toro and Exmark also offer commercial 21-inch models.

Cylinder mowers are the best option when attempting to stripe a lawn, whilst rotary lawn mowers are not suitable for the desired effect. This is because cylinder mowers cut grass in a scissor-like motion, and they usually have an internal rolling cylinder that passes a stationary blade.

✓ Mulching mowers are the machines that best help homeowners “grasscycle” (return clippings to the lawn). The fine bits of grass decompose quickly, releasing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and micronutrients back into the soil. This means fewer fertilizer treatments for your lawn.

A dethatcher uses metal blades or tines to comb across the grass and pull thatch up to the surface of the lawn.

What is the most efficient way to mow a lawn? ›

Cutting in concentric circles is an efficient pattern because all the turns you make are in the same direction. Since turns are more gradual, it's also easier to maneuver your mower. A circular pattern will match the cuts you make around trees and flower beds as well.

Doing multiple mowing sessions to shorten the lawn little by little to your desired grass height will encourage a healthy lawn going forward. Cut in a different direction each time to help encourage straight blades of grass. Mowing over the area also will mulch up the clippings as much as possible.

A scythe (/saɪð/ SYDHE) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia.

The best time to mow the lawn is late afternoon or early evening. During this time, the day's heat has passed, but there's still enough light to see what you're doing. Mowing at this time allows the grass to heal before nightfall, reducing the risk of disease and fungal infections.

Mow Properly

Using best practices for mowing helps your grass grow thick and stay that way. Rather than mowing based on your weekly calendar, mow according to grass needs. Mow often enough to maintain your grass type at its recommended mowing height without removing more than one-third of the height in a single mowing.

Don't Mow the Same Way Every Time – Alternate the Pattern

Grass blades tend to grow in the direction in which they are mowed. Alternating the pattern allows the blades to return to a more upright position. This will also ensure that you don't develop ruts in your lawn from the mower wheels.

Kubota is the only brand to earn top scores across the board in Consumer Reports' new riding-mower predicted reliability and owner satisfaction ratings for 2024. The brand receives stellar marks in those key attributes for both its gas lawn tractors and zero-turn-radius mowers in CR's survey-based ratings.

Toro makes Toro and Lawn Boy. MTD makes all of the store brands (i.e., a mower that might have the Home Depot name on it), along with MTD, Dynamark, YardPro, Weed Eater, Noma, and Sears Craftsman. Murray makes MTD. MTD makes the low end (non-commercial) John Deere tractors.

You want the engine that always starts easily – with the reliability and power to cut through tall, thick grass every time. Briggs & Stratton has built its reputation on reliable, innovative – and easy-to-maintain engines. The thickest grass does not stand a chance.