Lawn fertilizer is food for your turf. Lawn food helps your turf grow green and thick by giving it the essential nutrients needed to maintain a healthy green glow. Lawn fertilizers use a unique blend of nutrients, the most common being nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. This combination of nutrients creates a lush lawn that resists weed growth, promotes root growth, and aids in recovery from pest damage and foot traffic.
Choosing the right time to fertilize your lawn and how often is essential to a beautiful yard. Here is an easy guide highlighting the best time to fertilize your grass and how often to do it to get your lawn in the best shape.
When should you put fertilizer on your lawn?
Various factors determine the right time to apply lawn fertilizer, like the type of grass growing in your yard and the season you are in. Identifying your grass type is critical as it will help you plan a lawn fertilizer schedule that meets its nutritional needs. That said, you should fertilize grasses when they are actively growing.
How often should you Apply Lawn Fertilizer?
The frequency of fertilizing your lawn depends on your grass and the climate in your area. The best time to fertilize your lawn is during its peak growing season. There are two main types of grasses in the U.S.
Cool Season Grasses
This type of grass thrives in frigid weather. They have two peak growing seasons: Early spring and fall, when the average temperatures are between 60 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, is an ideal time to fertilize your cool-season grasses. For optimal health, fertilize lightly during spring and heavily in the fall. Heavy fall fertilization promotes healthy lawn growth during peak months. Apply fertilizer when your lawn grasses start getting green again.
Cool-season grasses need a small number of fertilizers rich in nitrogen to get through summer, about 1 to 2 pounds of fertilizer per 1000 sq. ft. per year. You can use fertilizer spreaders for granular fertilizer or a spray if you opt for liquid fertilizer. Just make sure the fertilizer goes down before temperatures start to peak and the grass goes dormant. Examples of cool-season grasses include Kentucky Bluegrass, tall and fine fescue, perennial ryegrass, and other turf grasses.
Warm Season Grasses
These grasses thrive in warm temperatures ranging between 80 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. They tend to be tough and form a plush lawn cover that gets thicker over time. Late spring and late summer is their peak growing period.
Since the grass will begin to grow when the temperatures are slightly below or above 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit, keenly observe your lawn and start fertilizing it when the grass begins to turn green and sprout. Warm-season grasses need 3 to 4 pounds of lawn fertilizer per 1,000 sq. ft of lawn annually. You can choose to use quick or slow-release fertilizers.
Just make sure it is fully absorbed before high temperatures set in. This helps the grass fill out and strengthen during its peak growing period. St. Augustine grass, Zoysia grass, and centipede grass are just some types of warm-season grasses.
Applying Fertilizer in Winter
Winter naturally slows down your lawn’s growth with most grasses going. This makes grass fertilizer ineffective in winter. However, suppose you live in an area that experiences mild winters, warm-season grasses should break dormancy in mid to late winter. In that case, you can apply fertilizer to your lawn to give it nutrients to recover from its winter dormancy.
You’ll know if it’s time to fertilize your lawn when the daily temperature levels persist in the 70s. Avoid using too much lawn fertilizer as it may harm your lawn. To avoid this, use a spreader and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Need Professional Lawn Care in Concord, NC
Carolina Turf Services provides quality garden and lawn fertilization services for a fraction of what you’d expect to pay. We’ve put great effort into developing the best fertilizer schedules to ensure your entire lawn performs its best. We recognize that the appearance of your lawn is just as crucial as its resilience to the elements. Contact us right away for professional lawn care services.
