Lawn care & mowing in Missoula and the Bitterroot Valley

Higher than most people do. Cool-season grasses that dominate here generally do best mown on the taller side, and the practical rule is never to remove more than about a third of the blade in one cut. Taller grass shades its own soil, holds moisture through dry summer weeks, and roots deeper, which makes it more drought-tolerant and more competitive against weeds. Scalping does the opposite on every count.

It depends on the time of year rather than a fixed interval. Growth spikes in late spring and early summer when moisture and temperature line up, then slows markedly in the hot dry stretch of mid-summer, then picks up again in early fall. We adjust frequency to what the lawn is doing rather than mowing to the calendar regardless.

Usually left. Mulched clippings return nitrogen and moisture to the soil and break down quickly when they are short. Bagging makes sense when the lawn got long between cuts and the clippings would mat and smother the grass, when there is active disease you do not want to spread, and at the end of the season alongside leaf removal.

We install, repair, and winterize irrigation systems, and we will set your controller to a schedule that suits the season and works within local water conservation guidance. Deep and infrequent watering beats short daily cycles — it drives roots down instead of keeping them at the surface. Check current restrictions with Missoula Water or your provider, as they change year to year.

Yes, though the first season is recovery rather than maintenance. That usually means bringing the height down gradually over several cuts rather than in one pass, dealing with the weed pressure that has established, and being honest with you about whether thin areas need overseeding rather than just more mowing.