I have a garden of about 200 square meters in Madrid and this summer it's growing really fast because of the July rains. Some neighbors say every week, others say every two weeks. What's the best way to do it so it doesn't get burned by the heat?
During summer with Madrid's temperatures, the ideal is to mow every 7-10 days if growth is fast like in your case, but never cut more than a third of the total height in each pass. The golden rule is don't let it grow too much because then the stress from heavy cutting combined with extreme heat will actually burn the grass, so it's better to go regularly and with moderate cuts. Also, always mow in the early morning hours or at dusk to minimize thermal shock to the lawn.
It really depends more on how fast it's growing than on any hard rule. If it rains a lot like this month, once a week is fine, but when August rolls around and the heat kicks in, spacing it out every 10-12 days works better because that way the grass doesn't get as stressed. The important thing is not to let it grow too much before you mow - max 8-10 cm - and always keep the blade high, that way you protect the soil from direct sun exposure. In Madrid with those temperatures, if you cut it too short it'll burn right up, so raise the height a couple of centimeters compared to spring.
The most important thing is to always leave 5-6 cm of grass, never cut it too short because that'll literally burn it with the August heat. In my case, with a yard like yours, at the end of July I mow every 10 days, but when August hits and it really gets intense, I go to every two weeks because growth slows down brutally with those temperatures 🌡️ The trick is don't follow a strict rule: if you see it's gotten really overgrown after rain, cut away without hesitation; when the real heat kicks in, let it breathe more between mowings. At the end of the day with heat stress the grass grows way slower than it seems.
It's not really about how many times a month but more about how much it grows each week, and that varies a lot depending on rain and temperatures. What I find odd about the previous answers is that whole thing about "never more than a third" - honestly, with heat like Madrid gets in August, mowing every 7-10 days and leaving it 5-6 cm tall is going to protect the roots better than trying to space out mowings too much, so once a week is the safest bet if it rains like it does in July.
With rain in between like you had in July, once a week is the smart move, but things get tricky in August when the heat really kicks in and growth slows down. I've got a similar garden in the north Madrid area and I figured out that what really matters isn't how often you mow so much as always leaving between 5 and 7 cm of grass - if you cut it super short with that brutal August heat, it'll burn right away. What works is adjusting based on what you see growing each week: if it's not growing much, wait longer; if it's still coming in pretty strong, don't wait more than 10 days. And one thing that saved me through several summers was watering a bit before mowing, because wet grass handles the cut better.
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