Does "No Mow May" really do anything for your lawn?

MINNEAPOLIS — You may have heard of "No Mow May," but now there are questions about how effective the movement really is. 

No Mow May is definitely a catchy name. And there's good meaning behind the movement, especially with more than 200 species of native bees in Minnesota.

"There's a lot of momentum to try to protect pollinators in Minnesota and the Midwest. And so it's kind of a nice, easy step into environmentalism for a lot of homeowners," said Noelle Bakken, sustainability specialist for the city of Roseville.

But does letting your lawn grow for a month really make a difference?

"There was a little bit of research that showed that there was a benefit to that. That research has since been retracted, and we currently don't know if there is a benefit to pollinators by not mowing in the month of May or not," said Jon Trappe, turfgrass extension educator with the University of Minnesota.

That's why there's a push for something a little different. In Roseville, they're promoting what they call "Less Mow May."

"Mowing your lawn less has a lot of great co-benefits. If you use a gas lawn mower, you're using less fuel throughout the year. If you let your grass grow a little bit longer, it actually grows deeper roots and is a little bit more resistant to drought like we've been seeing in the last few summers," Bakken said. "The way we look at it from the city's perspective is a way to educate residents about different ways that they can actually support pollinators year round, not just in the month of May."

At the University of Minnesota, they're calling it "Slow Mow Summer." Trappe recommends keeping your grass height between 3.5 and 4.5 inches.

"A taller mowing height means less mowing, less water, and overall, less work for your lawn throughout the summer," he said.

He adds that will benefit everyone, even if you're not trying to protect the pollinators.  Trappe also recommends planting bee lawns.

"Most of our bee lawn mixes that we have recommended have included a white clover, self heal, creeping time and then the principal component of that is the fine fescue," Trappe said.

Or a simple pollinator garden filled with native plants will work too.

"I just have a small pollinator patch in my backyard and even just adding that 10 by 10 patch has made a huge difference in the number of bees and butterflies that I see flying around," Bakken said.

If you need help getting your pollinator garden growing, you can reach out to the U of M extension office with any questions.