# How tall is too tall?



## Rig2 (Sep 3, 2018)

How tall is too tall for tttf?

I work out of town regularly and am gone for about 2 weeks at a time. Last time I came home the lawn was at 7 inches. It was rainy and barely growing when I left. When the sun finally came out it started to grow like a wildfire.

The highest setting my mower has, is 3.5 inches. I was thinking about making some brackets on the adjusters to raise it about 5 inches max height. Mow at that 5" when I get home then lower it 3.5" the night I leave.

Just wondering if letting it get that tall is bad? Or is keeping it at 5" or 4" bad? I have been keeping it at 3.5 since that's my max. The lawn doesn't really see any traffic besides a few cartwheels during the week. I have some PGR I want to use but it's been way too windy on my days off to spray anything.


----------



## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

I actually intentionally don't cut grass when it's hot and dry. Grass doesn't like to be cut under those conditions. I'd rather have it be 8 inches and green, and have to cut it back to 3.5 or 4 at some point when the heat breaks, than have it be 4 inches and brown. Not a widely used method around here, but I found out it's apparently a common strategy in the transition zone.

I'd say use PGR (timed correctly so you avoid rebound while gone!), and raise the mower as high as you can (with or without modification) upon your return.

Also, I'd avoid lowering the height right before leaving...try to maintain the 3.5 inch HOC for a week or more before you leave. Suddenly lowering the height tends to induce a bit of surge growth after recovery in my experience (similar to PGR wearing off but less dramatic), exactly what you're trying to avoid.


----------



## Chris LI (Oct 26, 2018)

Fescue likes to be cut at 4+, but some TTTF can tolerate low a HOC. You might be able to find a larger diameter wheel to give you a slight height increase. If you have a 7" wheel and went to 8", you would pick up 1/2", to get you up to 4".


----------



## bullet (Mar 4, 2019)

LCN talks about it in this video. He suggests cutting only 1/3 of the length of the grass at a time or else it might stress the grass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnMLaRCrRR4


----------



## outdoorsmen (Jul 23, 2018)

Summer time dry heat I let it get taller then i normally would. It helps prevent the soil from drying out.


----------



## NorthJerseyLawnGuy (Apr 4, 2019)

My mower goes to 4 and i think it looks great. Once it hits 5 inches the yard starts to look sloppy in my opinion. Also, the longer you cut it the less dog pee will burn holes, if that's an issue for you. The issue is that if you cut it to 4 and you don't want it to grow past 5 you've got to cut it more often than if you'd cut it at 3.5.


----------



## social port (Jun 19, 2017)

I think that 5 inches is about the highest I would go -- not because I've tried TTTF maintained at 6 or 7, but due to the conventional wisdom regarding HOC, moisture, and disease. In the heat of summer 5 inches for HOC will help you conserve water, as your soil will retain more water. However, the longer your grass blades stay wet, the more likely you are to experience disease. Higher HOC usually translates into greater risk of fungus. 
That is one way that TTTF can be too tall for its own good.

On the other hand, I seeded TTTF on a property next to mine (whoops). It is a very small area. And the grass is only cut a couple of times per year. I've never seen infection in that stand, and it gets well above 7 inches. Still, it is not something I would recommend.

Growth should slow down considerably this summer, so that should make things more manageable for you.

Edited to add: Just to be sure, I've never heard of 5 inches as a _recommended_ HOC; I'm only saying that that is the absolute highest that I would consider. I keep my fescue at 4.5 for most of the year, and that is probably considered high by many.


----------

