How Do I Stripe A Lawn?

Think back: What’s your most vivid memory about the first big-league baseball game you ever went to?

For many people, it was stepping out from the dark tunnels of the stadium to reveal a seemingly endless sea of green grass, checkered in striking patterns across the outfield.

Those stripes aren’t the work of lawn painters or groundskeeping gnomes – they are the result of a mowing technique called lawn striping. But lawn striping isn’t simply for the big leagues – it can raise the curb appeal of any home lawn or commercial property, and could even improve the health of your grass if you do it properly.

How does lawn striping work?

Lawn striping works by bending the grass in different directions using a lawn roller – a device that attaches to your mower.

Lawn striping works because it plays light reflects differently off the grass depending on the angle of the blade. When grass is bent away from you, the grass appears lighter because light reflects more readily off the full blade; when the grass is bent towards you, the grass appears darker, because you are looking at the tip, which is less reflective. Alternate these two directions gives grass a two-tone effect.

A healthy way to mow your lawn

If done correctly, lawn striping can actually benefit your residential lawn or commercial lawn. Repeatedly mowing your lawn in the same direction can create grooves, ruts, or holes in your lawn, or simply make the turf less resilient; by mowing the lawn in two directions for a striped effect, you can prevent lawn deformities and promote a lawn in which all grass blades get equal access to the sun and equal wear from your mower.

How to stripe a lawn

Don’t let the exotic look of this technique intimidate you: if you can mow a lawn, you can stripe it, too! Here’s how:

• Step 1: Buy a lawn striper or lawn roller – at your local hardware store; make sure it is designed to work with your mower.
• Step 2: Plan your pattern ­­– Start simple with a basic grid design, graduating later to more complex patterns like checkerboards and diagonal effects.
• Step 3: Mow the perimeter of your lawn – This will give your lawn a nice border.
• Step 4: Create your stripes – Using only the mower, begin to create your strips. At the end of each strip, turn the mower 180 degrees, then mow back the opposite way, taking care to overlap the previous strip just a bit.
• Step 5: Deploy your lawn roller –  Attach the lawn striper to your mower, and go over your pattern in the same directions that you mowed; this will flatten the grass and intensify the striped effect.
• Step 6: Re-mow the perimeter – Finish off by re-mowing the perimeter to give your lawn a beautiful, finished look.

Some more lawn striping dos and don’ts

• Don’t cut the grass too short – Taller grass bends more easily under the weight of the roller, which creates a more pronounced lawn striping effect. Keep your grass height between 2.5 and 4 inches for maximum effect.
• Don’t repeat the same pattern every time you mow – Re-stripe your lawn in a different pattern on consecutive mowings – if you don’t, your grass will begin to lie flat permanently. Switch the direction of the grass bending, or try a different pattern.
• Know your grass species – Cool-season grasses like  Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue, and tall fescue work best for striping; their longer, more flexible blades bend easily under the pressure of the lawn roller. Warm-season grasses (Bahia grass, Bermuda grass, centipede grass, St. Augustine grass, zoysia grass, etc.), have shorter, more rigid blades that don’t easily bend; their blades are more likely to spring back.

Prefer a more professional touch for your home, athletic field, or commercial property? Call the pros at Diamond Landscapes & Athletic Fields. We specialize in athletic field maintenance, commercial landscaping, residential landscaping, and more. Contact us today to learn more, or get a FREE, no-obligation estimate on professional lawn maintenance in Connecticut.