Lawn Striping: Getting a Tidy Looking Lawn

A striped lawn looks smart and attractive. It shows the effort you put into keeping your home well maintained and tidy. Lawn striping isn’t difficult when you know the correct technique, but you need the right tools to achieve a perfectly striped lawn. Follow these instructions to create and maintain perfectly straight stripes in your lush green lawn.

How to Stripe a Lawn

Have you ever wondered how striped lawns can appear to contain grasses of two different colors? It’s because the blades of grass in each stripe are bent in different directions. Grass blades that bend toward you appear dark, while the ones bending away from you appear lighter. Therefore, getting the classic “stripe lawn” look involves forcing the grass blades to bend in alternate directions.

Using a Striper for DIY Lawn Striping

There are two types of tools you can use to stripe your lawn. The first is a lawn roller or lawn striper, which is a heavy cylinder that you roll across the grass to flatten it. Your second option is to fit a lawn striping attachment to your mower, so that it bends the blades of grass while cutting them. Be sure to buy a striping attachment that is compatible with your particular model of mower.

Maintaining a Perfectly Striped Lawn

To maintain your lawn stripes, always mow along the stripes in a straight line. Mowing across the stripes is likely to bend some of the blades of grass in the wrong direction and cause the stripes to fade. You also need to keep your grass at the right height. Grass that is too short doesn’t bend, so you need to mow regularly on the highest setting, rather than occasionally cutting the grass very short. Finally, avoid walking on the lawn or allowing your kids and pets to play on it if you want the stripes to last.

Best Grass for Lawn Striping

Cool-season grasses hold stripes better than warm-season grasses, as they have a longer blade and shorter stem. However, if you live in a region that requires a warm-season grass, such as zoysia or Bermuda, you can create stripes if you are prepared to put in the work to maintain them. Mowing these grasses every couple of days can encourage them to keep their stripes if having a perfectly striped lawn is a priority to you.