One of the biggest questions we get from our clients is, “What is lawn striping and how do you make those stripes in the lawn?” Contrary to popular belief, achieving impressive lawn stripes doesn't require specialized equipment or commercial mowers with striping kits. With practice and the right approach, you can create stunning stripes using a basic mower from a mainstream retailer.
Striping is achieved by mowing the grass in different directions, which bends the grass blades back and forth, alternating between dark green and light green based on the reflected light — but to get great stripes, your lawn has to be lush and healthy. In this post, we’ll share some tips to help you achieve that striped aesthetic we’re known for.
Start with a healthy foundation
To embark on your journey toward a beautifully striped lawn, it's essential to start with a healthy foundation. Whether you choose to take care of your lawn yourself or hire a professional company like Brandon Rushing, ensuring the health of your grass is key. While it's possible to get some level of striping on less lush lawns, denser grass makes the striping effect more pronounced and easier to achieve.
That's why our lawn care program includes soil testing and analysis, fertilizing, aerating and weed and insect control in addition to weekly mowing, trimming and edging. We also recommend overseeding and adding compost to create a nice, dense lawn.
Choose the right kind of grass
At Brandon Rushing, we use premium grade tall fescue, a cool-season grass that possesses excellent drought resistance and durability against heavy foot traffic. Unlike Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue can withstand the playfulness of children and pets without sustaining damage, making it an ideal choice for achieving stunning lawn stripes.
Keep your blades sharp
Dull blades prevent clean cuts and hinder the formation of distinct stripes. At Brandon Rushing, we sharpen our mower blades weekly, and during the busy months at the beginning of the season we’ll even sharpen them twice a week, just to make sure we cut the blades evenly.
We have full time mechanics on the team, and they maintain all of our equipment weekly. The blades are removed, sharpened and replaced when necessary.
Don’t cut your grass too short
Striping is dependent on mower height. Over the years, we notice that people, in general, like to cut their grass short — between 1-2 inches. They believe this saves time, because they won’t have to mow as often, but in the long run, it actually damages your lawn and it won’t look as good.
Cutting your lawn too short makes it susceptible to disease and causes weeds to pop up. We recommend keeping it a longer… 3.75 inches in the spring and 4.25 inches during the summer for added drought protection. For more details about proper mowing techniques, see our post, How to Mow Your Lawn Perfectly.
Keep your lines straight
All you need to stripe your lawn successfully is practice. You don’t need special equipment, a commercial mower or a striping kit. Simply strive for neat, straight lines while mowing your lawn to maintain a visually appealing striped pattern.
To make the stripes even more pronounced and eye-catching, you can double cut your lawn which means going over the same lines twice during mowing.
Change your mowing direction
You need to change directions and alternate your patterns each time you mow to successfully stripe your lawn, otherwise you risk compacting the soil and creating ruts due to the weight of the machinery. This isn’t as big a deal if you’re using a light mower, but it is something to be aware of.
By prioritizing the health and density of your lawn, setting the right mower height, maintaining sharp blades and practicing proper mowing techniques, you can create captivating and envy-inducing lawn stripes just like ours.
At Brandon Rushing, we're here to provide expert guidance and support to help you make your lawn look like a golf course and transform it into a lovely work of art — simply reach out to us with any questions or book a consultation to get started.
