NJ Lawns Community

Hey everyone, I'm in Englewood and been reading a bunch of different articles online about winter lawn prep and I'm getting conflicting advice. Some places say you should stop mowing about 2 weeks before the first frost, but then I also see people saying that's outdated advice. My lawn is mostly tall fescue (KY31 actually) and I don't want to mess it up heading into winter. Does this rule even apply to tall fescue or is it more for cool season grasses like bluegrass? My neighbor swears by the 2 week rule but he's got a Kentucky bluegrass lawn. Would love some Bergen County specific advice since we definitely get those late October/early November freezes here. Thanks!

Honestly that '2 weeks before frost' thing is pretty outdated IMO. I've been maintaining lawns in Bergen County for over 15 years and I don't know any pro who follows that rule strictly anymore. What matters more for tall fescue is your final cut height - you want to drop it down gradually to about 2-2.5 inches going into winter, but you're still cutting until the grass stops growing. Once we get that hard freeze in late November/early December, that's when you put the mower away. The old rule was more about preventing snow mold which isn't as much of an issue with modern tall fescue varieties.

I'd actually push back on Mike here a bit. I do think there's something to the timing just not exactly 2 weeks. The idea is you want the grass to harden off a bit before cold weather hits, so stopping cutting about 2-3 weeks before your last expected mowing day makes sense for tall fescue in our zone. The stress from cutting right before a freeze can weaken the crown. I stopped cutting around mid-November last year (cut it close to Halloween weekend) and my lawn came back great this spring. Just my 2 cents from doing organic lawn care in Teaneck for years.

Interesting - so you're both saying similar things but with different emphasis. So what height would you recommend dropping to? Right now I'm hovering around 3.5 inches which seems pretty standard. And when exactly do you consider the 'stop point' - is itcalendar based or temperature based? Our average first frost in Englewood is typically late October but you never know sometimes we get that early November surprise freeze. Don't want to end up with overgrown lawn going into winter either.

For tall fescue I'd drop your last few cuts to around 2.5 inches max. Anything lower than that and you're stressing the root system going into dormancy. Watch the 10-day forecast - if night temps are consistently dropping below 40 and you don't see the grass really growing much, that's your signal. Honestly around Veterans Day (mid-November) is usually about the last cut for most of us in Bergen County. I picked up a new Oregon 580-674 blade last month at Frank's Lawn Equipment in Hackensack if you need blades, they're pretty stocked up right now for winter prep season.

+1 on the 2.5 inch height - that's what works for me too. Alsoagreed on watching growth rate rather than calendar. One thing I'd add for OP - if you've been fertilizing with nitrogen late in the season, stop that now. You don't want to push new growth right before winter. Switch to a fall/winter fertilizer with more potassium if anything. I grab mine from the Bergen County Garden Center in Paramus or sometimes Ray Weiber at the Rutherford Home Depot. The organic options they carry have gotten way better in recent years. Good luck!

Thanks everyone! Really helpful info. Looks like I'll drop my height gradually over the next few cuts to around 2.5 inches and watch the temps/nights - sounds like mid-November is probably my target for the last mow. No more nitrogen apps now since I did one in early September. Will check out Frank's for blades if needed as I'm overdue. Appreciate the local perspective - this is way more helpful than those generic articles that don't account for our specific Bergen County climate.