Weekly vs. Biweekly Lawn Service in Portland: Which Do You Need?

When people shop for lawn service in Portland, one of the first questions is whether they need someone every week or if every other week will do. Biweekly looks like it costs half as much. In practice, it rarely works out that way.

How fast Portland lawns grow

Most Portland lawns are cool-season grasses like perennial ryegrass and fescue. They grow fastest in spring and again in fall, which is exactly when our weather is mild and wet. From April through June, a healthy lawn can put on well over an inch a week.

The one-third rule

Good mowing practice is to never cut off more than a third of the grass blade at once. Take off more than that, and you stress the grass, turn it brown, and open the door for weeds and moss.

On a biweekly schedule in spring, the lawn is often so tall that the crew has to take off half the blade or more. Every other week, the lawn goes from shaggy to shocked. It never really looks good, and it gets weaker every season.

When biweekly can work

Biweekly works well for properties with no lawn, like yards that are all planting beds, shrubs, gravel, or hardscape. Beds and shrubs don’t grow nearly as fast as grass, so a visit every other week keeps them weeded, cleaned up, and looking sharp without paying for visits you don’t need.

That’s exactly how we do it at Hillside: we offer biweekly maintenance for properties without lawns. If you have grass, we recommend weekly, for the reasons below.

When you need weekly

• You have a lawn, especially one that gets decent sun and grows fast in spring
• You care about how it looks every weekend
• You want beds, edges, and debris handled consistently, not just mowing

Why weekly isn’t just about the grass

With weekly service, the crew is at your property every week, which means problems get caught early. The weeds get pulled when they’re small. The bulbs get cut back before they fall over. The branch that came down in the windstorm gets cleaned up that week, not two weeks later.

That’s why our Full Service plan is built around weekly visits, 44 a year, with debris cleanup every visit. It’s also why we don’t do mow-and-go. For more on how often each part of lawn care should happen, see how often lawn care should be done in Portland’s climate.

The cost math

Weekly costs more per month. But a lawn that’s kept on schedule doesn’t need repair work, and an overgrown lawn on a biweekly schedule often takes longer per visit anyway. Usually it will cost more per visit because all of the grass is taller you have more debris more weeds and all of that.

We bill a flat monthly rate with no contract, so you’re never locked into a schedule that isn’t working. Our average Full Service client pays about $330 a month, and a no-lawn property on a biweekly schedule typically comes in lower.

Get a recommendation for your yard

Every property is different. We’ll look at your yard and tell you straight what schedule makes sense. Call (503) 780-3599 or email Sales@hlmaintenance.com. Hillside Landscape Maintenance has served Portland, Gresham, Happy Valley, and Troutdale since 1997.

— The Hillside Team