How to Stop Grass from Growing Fast

Everyone enjoys a lush, beautiful lawn until it is time to mow! A lawn that has grasses that grow at a very fast rate would require a lot of time put in its maintenance.

It would also give an overall not so pleasant look -- you would agree with me that lawns look their best with short grasses. Lawns maintain these short grasses when they grow at a slower rate.

To maintain this lush outlook, you would need to understand how to stop grass from growing fast.

How to Stop Grass from Growing Fast

Learning the process of stopping lawn grasses from growing fast is pertinent to maintain a low carpet level of grass lawn and save you a lot of stress.

These stress range from spending a lot of time mowing down the fast-growing grass. Even if you hire helps to get rid of them, you would still spend a lot of money, especially if you have a large lawn space. This means that a fast-growing grass lawn costs energy, time, and money!

Now, let’s avoid all of these stressful situations by getting down to how to prevent grass from growing very fast.

Plant Slow-Growing Grass

There are grasses that naturally grow slower than others and are quite tolerant of drought and harsh weather conditions.

Planting such grasses would drastically reduce the amount of money, time, and energy you would spend mowing your lawn every now and then.  

Examples of such slow-growing grasses include Zoysia, Buffalo grass, Fescues, and clover. Fescues are slow-growing plants that require mowing only four times a year.

Its species include creeping red fescue (Festuca rubra var. rubra), chewings fescue (Festuca rubra var. commutate), and hard fescue (Festuca longifolia). They are usually grown in the hardiness zones 2 through 7 but can also be grown in the Mediterranean climate.

Clover (Trifolium repens) is another grass that grows at a slow rate and can be grown in USDA zones three down to 10. Clover does not also grow tall and can be fit for lawn grass.

Zoysia is a slow-growing grass that is tolerant of drought and withstands heavy traffic. Buffalo grass is also a slow grower and is native to North America and hardy in the United States.  

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Use Plant Growth Inhibitors

Plant growth inhibitors are available at hardware stores as plant growth regulators (PGRs). They are used to chemically slow down the growth rate of lawn grass by up to 50 percent.

While shopping for the plant growth regulators, you should seek after the Type 1 regulator. Type 1 regulators are easily absorbed through plant leaves and slow down the rate of plant growth by retarding cell division.

 Type 1 regulators include chemicals such as chlorflurenol, maleic hydrazide, and mefluidide. It is also vital that you avoid using Type 1 regulators that are herbicides, as they may cause more harm than slowing down the growth rate of recipient grasses.

It would be best if you also steered clear of Type II regulators, and this is because they are absorbed from the root and work very slowly. You would want something that can yield fast results, so stay far away from it.

Plant growth regulators are best applied by spraying it onto your lawn. It requires thoroughness when applying, and it takes time to apply.

This ensures that you don’t miss any grass, as any grass missed will grow as tall it should be within its growth rate. Do not spray on windy days and keep children and pets away from the grass after spraying.

Withhold Care and Attention

If your grass grows fast, then you would need to withhold care and attention given to it. If you need to stop your grass from growing fast, you need to reduce the amount of water and fertilizer.

Water and fertilizer promote speedy growth in plants and grasses, and this means it would require more mowing time and more maintenance.

To discourage speedy growth, withhold fertilizer and water application, and allow the grass to grow at its own pace instead of encouraging a faster growth rate.

However, if you must apply fertilizer, use a little quantity of fertilizer or a slow-release fertilizer. This would ensure that the grass grows at a very slow pace.

Interestingly, in most parts of the country, grasses grow dormant during the hottest part of the summer if left unwatered and will stop growing or will start growing at a slower rate on their own without any chemical intervention such as the use of plant growth regulators.

Lawns that are well watered and cared for look very great, but it does require a lot of maintenance than meets the eye to keep it in such shape.

However, to ensure that your lawn does not look dry and unkempt, you can water your lawn deeply and not too often.

During the watering session, you should water the grass to the level between 1 to 1½ inches. But this should be done every few days. For best results, water the grasses early in the morning.

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Reset Your Lawn Mower

Reset your lawn mower by raising its setting. Raising its setting ensures that the mower cuts off only a little portion of the grass. Grasses that are cut a bit taller are more likely to grow back at a slower rate.

Cutting of a little portion of the grass during mowing causes fewer traumas to the grass, and as a result, it would not quickly move to repair the damages inflicted on it; thus, it grows at a slower rate.

Use Artificial Turfs

There is a reason this tip is coming last. It is because this option is chosen when you do not live in a neighborhood with strict homeowner’s association, and you do not want to go through the entire process of natural lawn maintenance.

Your lawn must not be natural; it can come as an artificial turf grass and yet serve its purpose, at a less stressful cost. Artificial turf grasses are readily available in different shades of green and with varying degrees of softness.

Nowadays, artificial turf grasses appear more realistic than they used to, so one can not tell it apart from a natural grass lawn. They also feel soft to the bare feet, and guess what? You won’t ever need to mow your lawn at all! Ever!

Read Also: How to Stop The Growth of Tree Branches

Conclusion

Stopping grass from growing fast can be achieved through any of the means shared above. However, one of the most reliable ways of ensuring that the grass does not grow fast is by planting slow-growing grass.

Using artificial turf grass ensures that you don’t have to ever worry about learning how to stop grass from growing fast.