New cylinder mower flattening the grass.

Just getting the hang of my lovely new Allett cylinder mower but am struggling to get a consistent length cut as (I am guessing) the front roller flattens a lot of the grass so it doesn't hit the blades. See pic.

Any ideas what is going on? At the moment it is giving me a worse looking cut than my old cheap rotary.

 

Have you still got your “cheap old rotary” Tim? If so, use it to lift those stalks.
If not, rake the grass to lift those long stalks and then mow in opposite direction. Rake again in the other direction and repeat.

Thereafter, mow once a week to produce a good dense sword and to deny long stalks emerging again

 

Many thanks Verdun, I'll give that a go. I think the problem was made worse by me having applied fertiliser and advised not to mow for five days. Consequently the grass was longer than normal and I don't think cylinder mowers are designed to deal with long grass.

Ongoing problem is that I am trying to keep the grass a bit on the long side to build up the roots as it has been neglected for years I think.

 

Cylinder mowers hate stalks and they tend to rip them at times or are unable to cut them and may need several runs. Cylinders like your finer grass types and that’s a downside to a cylinder blade machine.

 

Thanks. I think I gave in to my desire to have a cylinder mower before I have got my lawn in a good enough shape for it! My heart said "a cylinder will make your lawn look better" but my brain said "you need a good lawn first for a cylinder mower to make better". Of course I ignored my brain!

 

Hopefully the stalk heads will be short lived and you will start to see a better cut. Hang in there, it takes a while to get a lawn in shape.

 

Thanks for the encouragement! I know it's a long game, which is part of the pleasure of gardening, but it does get frustrating sometimes!

 

I'm nearly a year into my lawn restoration and I've only just switched from rotary to cylinder with the blade set to its highest setting. My thinking is in another couple of months I'll be starting my autumn care, scarifying, top dressing etc so I should have enough time and cuts to know if the cylinder is right for my grass before it gets messed up again. It's so much more pleasurable mowing with a cylinder I'm determined to get it right, even if that means I have to kill all my grass and start again with new seed.

 

Agree hoofy.....a cylinder is more satisfying

Used to have a 6 bladed cylinder several years ago when I had a fine grass lawn. Loved that lawn but, boy, was it hard work to maintain its “perfection”. Now my main lawn is of less quality but it looks good I think and less work
I still have a cylinder mower, albeit a cordless one....I still get my treasured stripes though!

 

I grew up with most summer weekends spent at a cricket club somewhere so grass and stripes are in my blood!

Just having the Allett in my shed takes me back to the smell of the groundskeepers sheds, let alone walking behind it watching the finely sliced cuttings flying into the box! There's something much more frantic and rushed about using a rotary, you don't connect with what you are trying to achieve at all.

Just need to get my lawn in order now! Autumn will be the first chance to get some serious remedial work done, and see what next spring brings.

 

It's only when I take the bag off to empty the clippings when I know if I've achieved anything or almost wasted my time.