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Un iversi t y of M innesota Extension <br />exte nsion.umn.e d u <br />What not mowing in M ay co uld m ea n fo r your la wn <br />Unm own f lowers in a St. Paul boulevard <br />Mulc h clipp ings as you m ow to retur n <br />those nutr ients to your lawn . E xc e ss ive <br />cl ippings may need to be removed and <br />co mposted off-si t e , so you ma y need <br />supp lemen t al n itrogen for you r lawn. <br />No Mow Ma y has c apt ured the p ubl ic ’s att en tion i n t he <br />l ast fe w years. The id ea of n o t mowing a lawn du r in g the <br />m onth of May in order to promote flowers for e arl y <br />seaso n po ll ina to rs was first promo ted by a research <br />pape r that has since been retract ed . B ut there i s s till <br />quit e a bit of pub li c int erest in the initi ative. <br />Severa l cit ies in Mi nn esota have s ca le d back m owing <br />ordi nan ce s for the month of May and have even created <br />l awn signs for prom ot ing the mo vement. An d people <br />have reach ed out to me t o s ee i f I would s uppo r t a <br />mandate outlaw in g mow in g in May. <br />In a rece nt discussion <htt ps ://www .yout ube.com/watc h?v=ZgFMlNFJDi0> with members of the <br />University of M in ne sot a bee lab, we d iscuss ed what abstaining fro m mowi ng in May wo uld m ea n for <br />pollinators and l awns . <br />Althou gh I fu ll y supp ort pro moti ng pollinators in the landscape, I think it i s worth loo king at w hat not <br />m owing i n t he month of M ay might mean fo r you r lawn . <br />La wns in M in ne sot a are ma de up of several cool-seaso n <br />turfg rass es that naturally have two flushe s of grow th in <br />a given year, and those typi ca ll y happ en i n ea r ly <br />summer a nd early fall. We reco mmen d ma ny lawn <br />managemen t pract ic es arou nd these ti m es of yea r <br />becau se t he y are essenti al for prom o ting a he al thy and <br />c li mate-res il ie nt lawn. <br />I n Minnesota, not mowing in May means the l awn i s not <br />m own for the firs t time u ntil J un e, by wh ic h time the <br />grass c an get to 12-18 inches high. This creat es ma ny <br />pract ic al challenge s for homeown ers for m owi ng down <br />to more i deal mow ing height s, such as having to <br />c ompost t he clip pings off-sit e. <br />Apri l 12, 20 2 3