Is striping lawns a normal service?
James posted a great question on the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum that you can join in on here. He asked “Is striping lawns a normal service?”
Tom: “I think it depends on where you are. In the south grasses such as bermuda and zoysia do not stripe well at all because of their growth habits “runner grasses”. Although you can “burn” stripes in runner grasses. You just cut the exact same pattern everytime you cut the lawn and eventually it shows up. but its not good for the grass to do this. In the south fescue will stripe well but thats about it. If you are in an area where you can grow rye grass fescue Kentucky blue etc “clump grasses”, you can make striping look nice.
It is also one the most efficient way in terms of time to mow. You make a pass turn 180* and make a pass next to it. But you have to make sure you keep the mower straight. No one wants banana shaped stripes.
IMHO i think it comes down to the type of grass you are cutting and if the owner wants it.
When you see stripes in grass you are seeing where the mower past. If the mower was going away from you it shows up as a light stripe. if the mower was coming towards you it makes a dark stripe.”
Keith: “Striping a lawn is a great touch especially for customers in higher priced neighborhoods when you can charge for the extra effort needed to make stripes look professional.
The previous poster is right about the south. Specific grasses and well irrigated lawns make for better stripes.”
