How to Create Stripes in Your Lawn
A well-manicured golf course lawn can be a source of pride for any homeowner. While regular mowing and watering are all mainstays of your yearly lawn care schedule — adding lawn stripes can take your grass to the next level.
Lawn striping is a crisp and classic way to enhance the appearance of your lawn, creating a compelling visual effect that's sure to be the envy of your neighborhood. We'll explore what lawn stripes are, how to get lines in your lawn, and offer some secrets on achieving the perfect striped lawn.
Whether you're a seasoned lawn care pro or a DIY lawn enthusiast, we’ll provide all the information you need to finesse your lawn striping patterns.
What Are Lawn Stripes?
The mesmerizing lawn stripes you often see on a golf course or professional baseball field result from light reflecting off the grass blades. Surprisingly, there aren't different grass types or varying grass heights involved. Lawn striping is skillfully created by bending the blades of grass in different directions using a reel mower or a mower with a striping kit attached.
What Causes the Lawn Stripe Effect?
The blades of grass bending away from you create a lighter shade, while the grass blades bending toward you cause a darker shade. In 19th-century England, flaunting your wealth with a beautifully manicured, symmetrical, and smooth lawn was all the rage. The neater a lawn looked, the more it was assumed that the owner had invested in it. To achieve this, gardeners would use heavy rollers to flatten out any lumps or uneven patches on the lawn. The result of this practice was the emergence of lawn stripes, which matched the trend for a clean aesthetic that was popular at the time.
Lawn Striping Equipment
To create lawn stripes, you’ll need a weighted roller system attached to your mower to help bend or lay the grass down consistently in the direction of your mowing passes. The Toro Greensmaster 1600 is an excellent reel mower with a front roller and rear drum. These two features help flatten the grass consistently as you make your mowing passes. If you don’t have a reel mower but own a traditional rotary mower, you can purchase striping kits to attach to the rear of your rotary mower. This will produce similar lawn stripe results to a reel mower.
Mowing in multiple directions is key if you want to achieve the best-looking lawn stripes. By doing so, you should be able to see stripes coming from multiple angles no matter where you look. To achieve this, we recommend you vary your mowing pattern and mow in four different directions: lengthwise, short side, and diagonally in two different directions. This will help create a well-defined, multidimensional lawn striping pattern.
How to Get Lines in Your Lawn
Mowing in multiple directions is key if you want to achieve the best-looking lawn stripes. By doing so, you should be able to see stripes coming from multiple angles no matter where you look. To achieve this, we recommend you vary your mowing pattern and mow in four different directions: lengthwise, short side, and diagonally in two different directions. This will help create a well-defined, multidimensional lawn striping pattern.
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How to Stripe a Lawn: Tips
To see lawn stripes as clearly as possible, try lawn striping early in the morning, especially if you have short-cut grass. The dew accumulating on the grass in the early morning makes it easier to mow straight lines which enhances the look of your stripes. Lawn stripes look best on deep green grass, so ensure your lawn is healthy and has enough nutrients to flourish. If you’re reel mowing, aim for a mowing height of .75”. The grass is long enough to create amazing stripes while preserving that short-cut look. Happy lawn striping, and feel free to send us some photos of your #stripeaction successes!
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