Coastal Southeast Texas - yearly mowing schedule?

[yard girl]

Hello all - 1st post! This site is AWESOME. Thanks to all for sharing.

I'm starting out small this summer doing some n'hood friends' yards. Just mowing trimming & blowing. So far I'm loving it!

My question is for anyone working in the deep hot humid south (like say Houston tx). What month do you begin cutting weekly? Then bi-weekly? Then monthly? (these are st Augustine lawns)

Thank God for long summers, right!? :). My guess is April - sept/weekly, oct - nov/bi-weekly, dec - feb/ monthly, march - early April/ bi weekly.

I'm sure my customers will appreciate your input, otherwise I'll be cutting weekly all year!
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[SangerLawn]

welcome to the site!!!!

I no longer live in the deep south and run my business in the state of Indiana but I believe I can answer your question. There is no start date and no end date. Unfortunately weather changes from year to year and grass grows with the weather. There have been years that we were mowing Christmas week and other years we ended in October. I simply tell my customers when there lawn starts to grow in the spring we will be ready to cut and we will be there all year until the grass stops growing.

Good question, hope this helped

[yard girl]

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Yes, thanks! Good thing they are close by & easy to keep an eye on. Just curious what part of country were you in before?

[SEMI-RETIRED]

Hey yard girl....coldspring here, on lake livingston...

We have a lot of weekenders out here, so allmost everything is bi-monthly, and
the drought is affecting things a lot, as far as mowing schedule..

I agree with sangerlawn, weather will decide when you start and finish and how
often you mow in this part of the country, During the summer i just make sure
their lawns are looking good for when they come out on the weekends..

Now if you are doing lawns in the more upscale areas, like sugarland, kingwood,
the woodlands etc, with their manicured little lots, then you will probably be
able to get weekly contracts, because you will be doing landscaping also..

Just some thoughts, hope they help..

[yard girl]

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[yard girl]

Semi-retired, hey neighbor! You hit it on the head. I'm in Missouri city right next to "and 'wanna be'" sugar land. So it's weekly right now. Boy it sure has been dry this year! I have 3 half dead patches in my yard. Only yesterday realized my sprinklers were out of adjustment. CRAP! Enjoy those cool breezes off the lake (if there are any)!
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[SEMI-RETIRED]

Semi-retired, hey neighbor! You hit it on the head. I'm in Missouri city right next to "and 'wanna be'" sugar land. So it's weekly right now. Boy it sure has been dry this year! I have 3 half dead patches in my yard. Only yesterday realized my sprinklers were out of adjustment. CRAP! Enjoy those cool breezes off the lake (if there are any)!
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We are getting a little breeze in the evenings, not much tho..

One of the pumps went out on our sub-division water supply, so we
can't water anything but the flowers, suppossed to have new pump
installed tonight..

Next week will be hell, everybody will want to be mowed by july 4th..
I have a couple of big subdivisions that i do all right of ways and all
their vac lots etc, plus our residential to do, so busy busy busy LOL..

Good luck with your business, if you are ever out this way, pm us &
i will give you directions..

[SangerLawn]

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Yes, thanks! Good thing they are close by & easy to keep an eye on. Just curious what part of country were you in before?

I was born and raised in a little town just south of Huntsville Alabama. Moved to Indiana about 8 years ago. I really really really miss the south lol….but my business is here so here I will stay:cry:

[SangerLawn]

I wish I could send some of this rain to you guys!!! It is in the 90’s and we are getting evening time showers almost every night. Last week we had 2 rain storms that dumped 4 inches of rain each in about 1 hour. I think it hit national news? This is the rainiest season on record. We went through a major drought about 3 years ago. As much as this rain is irritating me i am not going to complain at all lol

[bohiaa]

Howdy yard Girl,

yup another neabor here,

to answer your question, its hard to work off a contract here in Texas with residental customers. because of the drout were off 40% this year. most commericals have sprinkler systems and use them. I have a hotel " holiday inn experss" that I'm running 7 to 9 hrs every 5 days, this sounds like a lot but it's total zones.

most of your customers now are every other week, of corse we charge more for this and we provide less services to bi-weekly's. as in spraying, and such.

Best of luck to you

[MowHouston]

My recommended mowing schedule when I serviced Houston:

Jan - Monthly
Feb - Two weeks
Mar - Two weeks
Apr - Weekly
May - Weekly
Jun - Weekly
Jul - Weekly
Aug - Weekly
Sep - Weekly
Oct - Two weeks
Nov - Two weeks
Dec - Monthly

I based that off of experience and how fast lawns grew or how fast they went dormant.

You'll always get customers in the summer who really need weekly service but want it every two weeks. Charge more for them or talk them into weekly service.

Some customers may drop off for Dec and Jan, but should pick back up in February or March.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[bohiaa]

My recommended mowing schedule when I serviced Houston:

Jan - Monthly
Feb - Two weeks
Mar - Two weeks
Apr - Weekly
May - Weekly
Jun - Weekly
Jul - Weekly
Aug - Weekly
Sep - Weekly
Oct - Two weeks
Nov - Two weeks
Dec - Monthly

I based that off of experience and how fast lawns grew or how fast they went dormant.

You'll always get customers in the summer who really need weekly service but want it every two weeks. Charge more for them or talk them into weekly service.

Some customers may drop off for Dec and Jan, but should pick back up in February or March.

Hope this helps. Good luck.


Kind of a rule of thumb, however were in a drout right now....
and a heat wave. yesterday it was 107. with no rain in site......

some custoemrs will water, some wont...
its hard to predect the future

[MowHouston]

Yeah. Droughts will change things.

When I was mowing down there the past two years, you couldn't get away from the rain :D

[bohiaa]

Yeah. Droughts will change things.

When I was mowing down there the past two years, you couldn't get away from the rain :D

Werid hu?

2 yrs ago it rained the entire month of June, brought out all the snakes.
that's the year I got bit by a cottonmouth

[larryinalabama]

Try to keep weekly year round, theres alaways leaves and other stuff to do in the winter

[yard girl]

I was born and raised in a little town just south of Huntsville Alabama. Moved to Indiana about 8 years ago. I really really really miss the south lol….but my business is here so here I will stay:cry:

Ah funny! I grew up in AL too! Phenix City right next to Columbus, GA/Ft. Benning. Now I live in suburb Houston. Couldn't live that far north my man :)

Yeah it's been way too dry this summer. I think global warming is upon us. It's been so damn hot, by the time I'm finished w/ a yard I can't even think straight. I drove my SUV into the garage w/ the rear door popped up the other day. Tore off the rear window wiper! (oops oh well I need a cold beer)

~does the rain dance~

[bohiaa]

Ah funny! I grew up in AL too! Phenix City right next to Columbus, GA/Ft. Benning. Now I live in suburb Houston. Couldn't live that far north my man :)

Yeah it's been way too dry this summer. I think global warming is upon us. It's been so damn hot, by the time I'm finished w/ a yard I can't even think straight. I drove my SUV into the garage w/ the rear door popped up the other day. Tore off the rear window wiper! (oops oh well I need a cold beer)

~does the rain dance~

LMAO, you mean it happens to other people ?

Last year I didn't want to go to the shop, so I took the trailer home. while backing it up. I hit the G-door and the side of the house. I mean I hit it.
it cracked the brick all the way up....

my wife seen it, and i simply told her, we need to water more on this side, the house must be setteling funny causing it to break.....

She's NOT dumb, I think she just let me make it.....
But It was kind of cold in the bedroom for about 2 months..... I wonder why that was....:confused: