It’s March – Give the Mower and the Bees a Break

It’s that time again – No Mow March. This is a chance to give the mower and the bees a break. This will be the fourth year we have promoted the No Mow March campaign, which started based on an idea received from a Leon County citizen in 2022 about the No Mow May campaign up north. Originally started in England in 2019, No Mow May has spread across the pond to various states and communities. It even has its fair share of detractors at this point, which we’ll discuss below. In any case, No Mow March is a great way to encourage folks to consider their lawn and landscape practices and how these practices impact insects and other pollinators. While a No Mow May campaign in Florida would cause several issues, including stressed out lawn mowers come June, a No Mow March campaign is feasible and actually lines up well with insect behavior in our neck of the woods.

Taking a Walk near Argenteuil by Monet — What would this Monet painting be like if there were no “weeds” in the field?

Why a No Mow March?

The idea is pretty simple, skip mowing all, or part, of the lawn during March to benefit insect pollinators. In our area, March is when many insects are coming out of their winter break and will be needing floral resources – pollen and nectar – at a time when many of our ornamental and native landscape plants are not in bloom. The plants that are blooming in March are the winter annual “weeds” common in many lawns. These flowering plants can be a boon to insects in search of those floral resources.

March is also a time in north Florida when the lawn grass species are yet to grow out and unlikely to get out of control. For most Leon County yards, the only plants needing to be vertically controlled in March are those winter annual “weeds” growing over the still dormant, or just greening up, centipede, St. Augustine, or Zoysia grass lawns.

So, we have a situation during March where the grass usually hasn’t grown out much and the insects need some resources. Why not skip mowing during March in all, or part, of the lawn and take a break while the insects enjoy the feast of “weeds”?

Flowering plants in bloom — Lyre-leaf sage (Salvia lyrata) is one of the many native “weeds” that you can find during No Mow March. Credit: Mark Tancig.

Why Not a No Mow March?

Here are some of the most common complaints, either from neighbors or academic types, about the various No Mow efforts:

The look of the lawns as unkept and weedy
It’s not really that helpful to insects since it’s temporary
It’s damaging to the health of the grass and causes more weeds

In response to the last two concerns – not that helpful to insects and damages the lawn – it is true that this is an activity focused on one month and insects and pollinators need our help year-round. However, it’s a great way to get people to think about how their landscape practices impact the species sharing the greater world around them. Hopefully, folks that get interested and excited about No Mow March continue to look for ways to support wildlife in their landscape, such as implementing the Florida-Friendly Landscaping Principles.

As for the health of the lawn grass, again, since our lawns are just beginning to flush new growth, it’s unlikely that a sudden mow at the end of March will damage them. It is a recommended practice to mow no more than 1/3 of the leaf blade height at each mowing. To minimize stress of the lawn, you may need to mow high the first time and then come back several days later to get it down to the proper height.

The look of an unmowed lawn is probably the main factor keeping people from embracing the idea. The patchiness of short, dormant grass mixed with taller “weeds” gives the lawn a non-uniform, chaotic feel. While we humans see this as a mess, this non-uniform, chaotic structure is exactly what draws in the insects, as they search for blooms among the many flowering “weeds” mixed in with the lawn.

I’ve included the term weeds in quotations, because, as Ralph Waldo Emerson noted, a weed is “a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered” by the viewer. Many of our “weeds” are important sources of those floral resources for insects, and seeing them as food plants for insects may start to change the way you feel about them, too.

A bird resting in weeds — When flowers attract more insects, birds are also likely to be found. Source: Juli DeGrummond

If you have any questions on what beautiful “weeds” you’re finding in the lawn during No Mow March or ways you can support insects and pollinators throughout the year, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension Office.