Proper cutting height is critical to turfgrass health. Specialists advise that generally speaking, maintaining longer grass means better root systems.

My mower has settings from 1" to 3" inches. 2-5/8" seems to be optimum taking into account some uneven areas in the front yard, it will scalp some spots at lower cutting heights. Working on those but takes time.

But everyone says "set mower as high as it will go". When I use the highest setting though have noticed the mower doesn't seem to get as good a "bite" and doesn't look quite as nice when finished. Will the turf fill out/fill in or settle into higher cutting heights over time or is optimum cutting height a function of the grass species itself?