What is the typical cutting time for a 150 sqm yard?

Gardena gives a typical mowing time of 65 minutes per charge, with charging taking about the same. A 150 sqm yard typically requires one to two sessions per week during growing season.

Gardena Sileno CityIIAssistedCompare

Released 2019.03Reassessed 2026.08.07Compare

Gardena

Gardena Sileno City

Name: Gardena Sileno City
Brand: Gardena

Wire-guided mower for the smallest urban yards. The boundary wire sets the limits, the onboard panel or the GARDENA Bluetooth app sets the mowing times, and SensorControl decides how often to cut from how fast the grass is growing. Sileno City asks little of the yard and little of the owner once the wire is down.

Replaced byGardena smart Sileno free 800A different product line, not a newer generation of this model.

List price

$699

Selling above list

See on Amazon

Some links earn Robovations a commission.

Released 2019.03Reassessed 2026.08.07

Autonomy Ladder

Why Level II.

One five-rung scale, every category, from acting only on command to working unsupervised anywhere.

VGeneralized AutonomyAny task, any setting. No consumer robot has reached it.
IVEnvironmental AutonomyCopes with everyday clutter and frees itself, shown by independent testing.
IIIConditional AutonomyFinishes whole jobs in familiar spaces; struggles at the edges.
To reach Level IIIMost sessions finish without intervention. Rescue is occasional, not routine.
IIAssisted AutonomyThis robot

Gardena Sileno City runs preset routines on its own, and the owner is its recovery system.

Navigation and control

Boundary wire guidance with random-path navigation within perimeter
Why this level
- Perimeter wire-guided random-path cutting within a fixed boundary.
- The mower keeps its own schedule, set on the onboard panel or in the Bluetooth app or left to SensorControl, and returns to its station to charge without prompting.
- What holds it at Level II (Assisted Autonomy) is that the working area is defined by physical wire the owner lays and the cutting path is unplanned rather than mapped.
Autonomy dimension 40 / 100 · No independent sources reviewed, 3 from the maker
IManual AutomationOne action on command; no independent operation.

How we assign a level →

Behind the classification

Sources on file.

PendingNo independent sources reviewed, 3 from the maker

Fewer than two independent sources reviewed. Evidence is still being collected. The word says how much we read. It is not a grade.

From the maker, reviewed3

Specification sources3 sources

Pages the published specifications were read from.

Also monitored, nothing listed yet

Manufacturer documentation

Gardena Sileno City product documentation, specification sheet, and boundary-wire installation guide covering operational parameters and maintenance.

Press & video reviews

2019-2026 lawn-care and robotics media coverage of Sileno City positioning in the ultra-compact segment and urban-market performance.

Owner reports

Six-year owner feedback from garden forums, Reddit r/lawncare, and Gardena community documenting wire maintenance, blade durability, and reliability on small urban yards.

Longitudinal signal

Six-year market history (2019-2026) tracking City's field performance, component failure patterns, and sustained market position in ultra-compact category.

How we evaluate evidence →

Human Readiness

Ready Now.

One question: what does buying this robot today walk you into? The state is computed from the record, and recomputed daily.

Ready NowThis robot

Gardena Sileno City is on sale, assessed, and nothing on its record argues for waiting.
How this was derived
- Gardena smart Sileno free 800 is shipping as this robot's successor. This record stays current for owners and buyers of this model; the successor is assessed on its own page.
Notes on the record
- Widely available through Gardena retailers and garden centers.
- Boundary wire installation (1-2 hours) required, with the wire and pegs supplied in the box.
- Seasonal deployment and blade replacement every 6-8 weeks during season.
- Once the wire is down the mower keeps its own schedule; owner intervention is seasonal rather than per session.
On the record
- Shipping since March 2019 · 91 months on the market
- Retail listings on file: Amazon
- Succeeded by Gardena smart Sileno free 800
- No independent sources reviewed, 3 from the maker
What would move it
A documented problem, an announced successor, or a withdrawn listing moves it out; the rating recomputes daily.
New to MarketOn sale under 90 days; the ownership record is still forming.
WaitA successor is announced and has not shipped; re-read the decision when it arrives.
Known IssuesDocumented problems stand on the record; read the case before buying.

How we assess readiness →

Robovations Score

How this number was reached

69of 100

CapableAt or above 61% of the 456 robots we scoreand 55% of the 112 scored robot lawn mowers

DeficientLimitedCapableStrongExemplary

Held below its arithmetic73 → 69

Capped at 69: a Strong rating requires every pillar at 55 or above (ownership burden below the floor).

Measured on 8 of the 9 inputs10% not counted

Our assessment did not establish an independent source for edge-case recovery on this machine, so that input is left out of the score rather than guessed at, and the rest re-weighted to fill the space. A gap in what we have been able to verify is not evidence against the robot. Where a whole pillar has nothing measured, we publish no number at all.

What moved itpoints gained or lost against a typical robot

Carried by

Field failure rate100+4.8
Support longevity100+3.8
Task completion78+1.0

Held back by

Routine maintenance43−3.0
Coverage and navigation52−2.0

Capability40% of the score67What it does without you.

Task completion16% of the score78

Evidence

PCMag's Schedule Wizard builds a work schedule from lawn size and the app reports only mowing or parked, so the wired main area runs unattended, but a detached second lawn is not scheduled at all: you pick the mower up, place it where you want it to work, and it mows there until the battery is depleted. Expert Reviews adds that the guide wire also helps the robot find its way home again when it has finished the job.

Coverage and navigation10% of the score52

Evidence

Expert Reviews describes coverage as wire-defined rather than mapped: a perimeter wire corrals the mower and a separate guide wire, spliced into that circuit, exists to ensure the mower can get to difficult-to-reach areas such as a lawn connected by a narrow corridor of grass. PCMag confirms there is no map, only a schedule generated from lawn size and a starting point per zone, so how much gets cut depends on run time.

Edge-case recoverynot countedno source verified32

Evidence

It halts cleanly and shows an accurate fault on a 2.1 inch onboard display, which is real reporting rather than a silent stall. But Bluetooth reaches 10 meters and the record states there is no access from outside the garden, so a mid-week stall is discovered by walking out to it. Nothing documents self-extraction from entrapment, and a wire break stops the machine until a person finds it.

Operating envelope4% of the score60

Evidence

Wire guidance makes canopy and darkness irrelevant and at 58 dB it is quiet enough to run at night, which genuinely widens the working window. Against that it needs a simple, regular, near-flat lawn: owner reports and press coverage document traction loss and navigation uncertainty above 10 percent on wet grass against a 25 percent rating, and the record excludes narrow passages, disconnected zones and organic boundaries.

Dependability40% of the score88Whether it keeps doing it.

Field failure rate16% of the score100

Evidence

Six seasons in market from the Husqvarna Group's garden brand, with a longitudinal record marked complete, four press items and a substantive owner-report base across garden forums, Reddit and Gardena's community boards. No recall, no systemic defect and no pattern of job-stopping mechanical failure. Short of the isolated-failures anchor because the evidence is owner-community grade and no warranty-handling data is on file.

Software stability14% of the score65

Evidence

Updates ship: a firmware channel runs through the Gardena Bluetooth app, delivered from the garden rather than over the internet. Nothing records their effect. No changelog, no release notes and no independent account of update behavior exists for this model, and no owner reports an update breaking a working function. That silence asserts neither stability nor instability. Having no cloud to fail still earns nothing here; the score reflects the absent record, not the absent cloud.

Support longevity10% of the score100

Evidence

A strong support case, and one the framework names directly. Gardena publishes long parts programs with catalogs and exploded diagrams, runs a dealer and service network across Europe and North America, and this model is still in the lineup seven years after launch with commodity blade sets. Off the top only because no support term is published in years and there is no software-update commitment.

Ownership burden20% of the score54What it asks of you.

Routine maintenance12% of the score43

Evidence

The binding item is deck and blade clearing after every two to three uses, which on a machine cutting once or twice a week is a near-weekly job. On top of that sit monthly wire and dock contact inspection, a 6 to 8 week blade interval, and an annual full-loop wire audit with break repair. Seasonal deployment itself is five minutes and the machine is light enough to handle one-handed.

Consumables8% of the score71

Evidence

The record puts blades at $20 to $30 a set on a 6 to 8 week interval, roughly $100 a year, and lists the short interval as a con. Worth noting against that figure: the sibling Minimo record prices the same style of Gardena three-blade change at about $5 from a nine-blade kit, so the true running cost may be far lower. Scored as the record states, with the discrepancy flagged.

middle half of the databaseits medianthis robot

Reported, not scoredneither measures how well the robot works

Five-year cost$1,319

Lower third for robot mowers. $699 at purchase with boundary wire and pegs supplied in the box, which the record confirms, roughly $500 of blade sets across five years at the price this record states, an allowance for wire spares, and one battery pack toward year five. No subscription, no gateway and no account of any kind. If the sibling record's Gardena blade-kit pricing is the correct figure, the five-year total drops by roughly $400.

Data postureLocal

Core function needs no account and no network.

What leaves the homeNot documented

Read the full methodology →

FIT CHECK

Will the Gardena Sileno City work on your yard?

Describe your yard using the controls. Each choice reads the spec sheet for you, flagging where the Gardena Sileno City is built for your space and where it isn’t.

Yard size

Terrain

Grass type

Boundary setup

See every robot mower suited to these conditions

A classification of fit for the conditions you set, not a recommendation. Verdicts describe engineering design intent, not test results.

OWNERSHIP

Living with it.

Six years of field data show stable mechanical operation; boundary-wire integrity and blade dulling are the primary maintenance burdens.

Stableowner-reported arc

The record so far

Market presence since 2019 shows reliable cutting performance once deployed. Wire breaks from ground settling or weather are occasional. No major firmware issues (no firmware exists). Blade replacement demand is high due to frequent use on small yards.

What goes wrongnot yet documented independently

The independent record is still forming. Failure modes are listed once an outside source reports them.

Upkeep routine

Monthly12×/yr

Inspect visible for breaks or corrosion damage. Check dock contacts for dirt.

Seasonal4×/yr

Deploy mower, verify integrity (visual walk-through), test dock connection (5 minutes).

Inspect and replace mower ($20-30 per set).

Yearly1×/yr

Full inspection and repair of any breaks. Deep maintenance and dock connector check.

As neededno fixed schedule

Clear deck and area of grass clippings and debris.

Cost over timeabout $300 past the sticker over three years

PurchaseRunning cost

Year 1

$799

Year 3

$999

Year 5

$1,199

$699 to buy, then about $100 a year for the replaceable parts below. Over three years that is roughly $300 past the sticker price. Excludes electricity and any repairs.

What you replace

Typical for robot mowers: seasonally

Replacement cadence from the maintenance schedule; prices shown where the source documents them. Some links earn Robovations a commission. It does not change any classification. All parts at Gardena

Safety notes1 caution · 1 note

CautionBlade engagement near perimeterBlades spin during perimeter tracing. On compact urban lots, neighbors' property may be close; ensure boundary wire placement respects shared-space proximity.
Underground wire electrical hazardBoundary wire carries low-voltage signal. Avoid cutting wire with metal tools during garden work or yard maintenance.

SPECIFICATION

The full spec sheet.

Priced below the category median, with every figure charted against the category below.

Dimensional drawing

Key specificationsManufacturer-publishedSources: Manufacturer site

FootprintThe width, depth and height of the robot itself, without its dock.: 21.3 × 15 in, 9.5 in tall
WeightThe robot alone, without its dock, as the maker states it.: 15.9 lbs
BatteryStored energy in watt-hours; a larger pack runs longer, not harder.: 100 Wh · Li-ion
Cutting width: 6.3 in•
Cutting height range: 0.8-2 in•
Max area: 2691 sq ft•
Max slope: 25%•
Boundary method: Buried boundary wire
Blade system: 3 pivoting razor blades

Where it lands · position among 134 robot lawn mowersThis robotMedianTypical range

RuntimeThe maker's stated running time on one charge, at a standard setting.65min

30 min240 min

Near median

PriceThe maker's list price, not a price found in a shop.$699

$549$5,999

Bottom of range

NoiseLoudness at the maker's stated distance, in decibels; ten more decibels reads as about twice as loud.58dB

50 dB75 dB

Near median

Charge timeTime from empty to full on the dock, as the maker states it.60min

30 min300 min

Near median

WeightThe robot alone, without its dock, as the maker states it.15.9lbs

13 lbs88.2 lbs

Bottom of range

Position shows where the figure sits across the tracked category, not a quality judgment.

Official referencesManufacturer site

RECORD

How the assessment has moved.

Every announcement, release and reassessment behind the current classification.

Coming soon

Just launched

Active updates

Settled

Discontinued

Sep 2026 · AssessmentRecord status: Provisional → Pending
Aug 2026 · AssessmentRecord status: Verified → Provisional
Aug 2026 · AssessmentRobovations Score rescored under v4.0: 67 → 69
Jul 2026 · AssessmentRobovations Score recorded at 67 of 100
Feb 2025 · NewsSileno City price moves to $649 as Gardena urban tier repositions

Questions

What people actually ask.

5 answered

OperationDoes the Gardena Sileno City work without a boundary wire?

No. A perimeter wire must be laid around the yard’s edge. Manufacturer specs specify 0.4–1.2 in burial depth. Installation on compact urban lots typically takes 1-2 hours.

CompatibilityCan I schedule the City to run on a timer or via mobile app?

Yes, three ways. Mowing times can be set on the onboard control panel and its 2.1 inch display, or through Auto Schedule in the GARDENA Bluetooth app, and SensorControl adjusts how often the mower cuts according to how fast the grass is growing. No push-button start is needed for a session.

OperationWhat is the typical cutting time for a 1,600 sq ft yard?

Gardena gives a typical mowing time of 65 minutes per charge, with charging taking about the same. A 1,600 sq ft yard typically requires one to two sessions per week during growing season.

OperationHow often do I need to replace the blades?

Manufacturer lists blade replacement every 6-8 weeks during active season. Replacement blades cost approximately $20-30 per set. Shorter interval than larger mowers due to smaller blade size.

OperationIs the Sileno City suitable for narrow garden passages or tight spaces?

City is compact, 21.7 x 15.0 x 9.1 in, and well-suited to narrow passages and tight urban gardens. Owner reports confirm easy manual repositioning between cutting sessions if boundaries prevent continuous coverage.

Availability

Where it's sold

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Amazon Check price & availability

Cite & Embed

Reference the Gardena Sileno City classification.

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Robovations. "Gardena Sileno City: Autonomy Level II (Assisted Autonomy)." Autonomy Ladder™, assessed August 2026. https://robovations.com/robots/gardena-sileno-city/

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Where to next

Three ways to keep going.

For evaluators

Compare with a peer.

See the Gardena Sileno City and Husqvarna Automower 115H side by side: autonomy level, Robovations Score, readiness, and price. Classification, not a verdict.

See the full comparison

Or compare with Worx Landroid S 20V, Husqvarna Automower 305, Stihl iMow 6 EVO.

For browsers

See every Level II.

Every robot we’ve classified at assisted autonomy. Sorted by readiness, score, and price. Filter by category, manufacturer, or release date.

Browse every Level II robot

Updated weekly with new entries and reclassifications.

Gardena Sileno City

Will the Gardena Sileno City work on your yard?

Living with it.

The full spec sheet.

How the assessment has moved.

What people actually ask.

Other robot lawn mowers we have classified.

Stihl iMow 6 EVO

Worx Landroid S 20V

Husqvarna Automower 115H

Husqvarna Automower 305

Where it's sold

Reference the Gardena Sileno City classification.

Three ways to keep going.

Get the next reassessment.

Compare with a peer.

See every Level II.