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Re: When to mow

Hi Lynn,

amateur opinion here, but I think early spring is the best, and as
high as your mower goes should be sufficient.  Our mower only goes to
4 inches, but that appears to be above the growing points of the
grasses.  Heck, burning should go all the way to the ground so I can't
imagine what the concern over mower height is.  The Tallgrass Prairie
Restoration Handbook mentions the 6 inch height a couple of times.
Wildlife effects are also mentioned, both fall and spring mowing have
advantages/dis for different species.  Since our prairie area is too
small to support any specific wildlife I prefer to leave the seedheads
intact for the birds until spring.  The one area that we mowed this
spring had increased numbers of Purple Coneflower, Big/Little
Bluestem, Columbine, and Golden Alexanders.  The invasive Canada
Goldenrod and Daisy Fleabane was set back but not controlled.  I
didn't observe any plant damage as a result of the mowing.  Purple
Coneflower was already 6 inches out of the ground when we mowed and it
came back within weeks.


d:-)

Mark Stephens (markws@one.net) - Cincinnati, OH  Zone 5
http://w3.one.net/~markws - Our Backyard Forest
http://w3.one.net/~markws/gilmore.html - Gilmore Ponds Conservancy

-----Original Message-----
From: Lynn Barnett M.D. <l-barnett@nwu.edu>
To: prairie@mallorn.com <prairie@mallorn.com>
Date: Tuesday, October 27, 1998 9:09 AM
Subject: When to mow


I live in northern Illinois and planted my prairie this year.  I've
been
reading as much as I can find about burning, mowing etc.
Unfortunately, my
village will not allow me to burn, so mowing is my only option.  I
have two
questions about this.  When is the best time to mow; fall or early
spring?
How high should I mow?  I saw one author who recommended mowing 12
inches
high.  Obviously, my regular lawn mower won't work but I'm not sure
what
kind of machine I could use if this is the correct height.  Any
suggestions?


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