Perth, Scotland

Perth, Scotland56.3952, -3.4314

Mowing

When you can next cut it, and the best slot this weekend.

Best weekend slot

Saturday 8am–8pm

Verdict: Good

rain earlier today, ground firm

Next mow

Today midday–5pm

Verdict: Good

rain earlier today, ground firm

How you feel about mowing

Sensible middle ground.

Petrol or battery. The baseline.

The next 10 days

Column height is how mowable the day is; the lighter band is the best stretch within it. The line is soil temperature at 6cm.

9°C — seeding

Soil at 6cm 15.7°C cooling to 11.9°C

Thursday 3 September: Good. midday–5pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Thursday 3 September · midday–5pmConfident

midday–5pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm14mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.68
Good:Temperature
Temperature13°C
Good:Wind
Wind light14 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:none

Friday 4 September: Good. 9am–11am — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Friday 4 September · 9am–11amConfident

9am–11am — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.61
Good:Temperature
Temperature13°C
Good:Wind
Wind light20 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:wind

Saturday 5 September: Good. 8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Saturday 5 September · 8am–8pmConfident

8am–8pm — rain earlier today, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.54
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light17 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:none

Sunday 6 September: Good. No — 0.3mm of rain falling.

Sunday 6 SeptemberConfident

No — 0.3mm of rain falling.

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass wetraining now
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm20mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing wellgrowth potential 0.83
Good:Temperature
Temperature17°C
Good:Wind
Wind light21 km/h

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Monday 7 September: Good. 2pm–8pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Monday 7 September · 2pm–8pmReasonably confident

2pm–8pm — dried off since a shower 1 hour ago, ground firm

Good:Grass wetness
Grass drydried off since a shower 0 hours ago
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm22mm rain over the last week
Good:Growth
Growing steadilygrowth potential 0.48
Good:Temperature
Temperature12°C
Good:Wind
Wind light14 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the rain has passed

Limiting factor:none

Tuesday 8 September: Good. 9am–2pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Tuesday 8 September · 9am–2pmReasonably confident

9am–2pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm23mm rain over the last week
Marginal:Growth
Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.27
Good:Temperature
Temperature10°C
Good:Wind
Wind light3 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Wednesday 9 September: Good. 8am–8pm — growing slowly — growth potential 0.22

Wednesday 9 September · 8am–8pmReasonably confident

8am–8pm — growing slowly — growth potential 0.22

Good:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm24mm rain over the last week
Poor:Growth
Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.22
Good:Temperature
Temperature10°C
Good:Wind
Wind light9 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts when it stops being antisocial

Limiting factor:growth

Thursday 10 September: Good. 11am–8pm — grass dry — no rain since Tuesday

Thursday 10 September · 11am–8pmReasonably confident

11am–8pm — grass dry — no rain since Tuesday

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass dryno rain since Tuesday
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm18mm rain over the last week
Poor:Growth
Barely growinggrowth potential 0.15
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light2 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Friday 11 September: Good. 7pm–8pm — grass damp — rain earlier today

Friday 11 September · 7pm–8pmLow confidence this far out

7pm–8pm — grass damp — rain earlier today

Poor:Grass wetness
Grass damprain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm16mm rain over the last week
Poor:Growth
Growing slowlygrowth potential 0.20
Good:Temperature
Temperature11°C
Good:Wind
Wind light5 km/h
Sociable hours
A bit early or late, but finestarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Saturday 12 September: Good. midday–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Saturday 12 September · midday–8pmLow confidence this far out

midday–8pm — grass dry — rain earlier today

Marginal:Grass wetness
Grass dryrain earlier today
Good:Ground firmness
Ground firm18mm rain over the last week
Poor:Growth
Barely growinggrowth potential 0.19
Good:Temperature
Temperature10°C
Good:Wind
Wind light4 km/h
Sociable hours
Fine by the neighboursstarts once the dew has burnt off

Limiting factor:grass wetness

Growth

How fast it is growing, and when it will need cutting again.

0.68Growing strongly

Growth potential, 0 to 1 — the turf-industry measure of how fast grass can grow at today's temperature and day length.

Putting on about 4.1mm a day. A lawn cut today would be ready for another in around 4 days.

Worked out from the PACE Turf growth potential model and day length —how and why.

What this means right now

  • Good: Seeding window open

    Seeding conditions are open — soil is 13.3°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

  • Warning: Frost about

    Thursday 10 September has frosted hours. Stay off it until it lifts — walking on frosted grass bruises it, and mowing it ruptures the leaf.

Seeding

Soil temperature at germination depth, and when the window opens.

Soil temperature

13.3°C56°F

at 6cm — germination depth

Cooling over the next 10 days.

Seeding conditions are open — soil is 13.3°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

Cross-checks against an independent estimate from air temperature (14.5°C), which agrees to within 0.5°C.

Almost every UK and Irish lawn is a ryegrass and fescue mix, whether it was sown or turfed. We assume that, and use9°C as the seeding threshold.

I know what grass I have

The differences are small. Ryegrass is the quickest off the mark; bluegrass is the slowest and wants the warmest soil. Everything else sits between.

Soil temperature at 6cm for reliable germination. Sources onthe method page.
SpeciesSoil tempDays
Perennial ryegrasslikely yours8°C5–10
Red / chewings fescuelikely yours8–10°C10–14
Tall fescue10–12°C10–14
Browntop bentColonial bentgrass10–12°C14–21
Smooth-stalked meadow grassKentucky bluegrass12–13°C14–28

Feeding

Why timing decides whether a feed does anything at all.

Coming in the app

Grass takes up nitrogen when it is growing. Feed a lawn that has stopped and most of it washes past the roots — which is why timing beats product choice.

Right now this lawn is growing well enough to use a feed.

The app will work out the actual feeding windows for your lawn — along with weed control, scarifying and moss treatment — and tell you when they open without you having to check.

Why timing beats product choice

Perth, Scotland in detail

Soil temperature at 6cm in Perth, Scotland is currently 13.3°C, and falling about 4.3°C over the next 10 days. That depth matters because it is where grass seed sits and where roots start working, and it lags air temperature by days — which is why a warm afternoon here tells you very little on its own.

Lawns in this area are typically perennial ryegrass with fescue, which is what most lawns round here are sown with. That blend needs the soil to hold above 9°C before seed germinates reliably. Seeding conditions are open — soil is 13.3°C at 6cm and holding above 9°C.

10 of the next 10 days are good mowing days. The best weekend slot right now is Saturday 8am–8pm, on the basis that rain earlier today, ground firm.

The next recommended window in Perth opens at midday on Thursday 3 September, because that is when the dew has burnt off — earlier than that and you are cutting wet grass. Underfoot, the ground reads as firm after 14mm rain over the last week.

There is frost in the forecast for Perth, Scotland: Thursday 10 September has hours cold enough to freeze the leaf. Stay off the grass until it lifts — mowing frosted turf ruptures the cells and the damage shows for weeks.

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Forecast from Open-Meteo, refreshed hourly. Soil temperature is modelled, not measured — how that works and where the thresholds come from.