Lawn Fertilizing Schedule - Tips for Keeping Your Lawn Green
A lawn fertilizing schedule is essential for keeping your lawn growing well and looking its best.
The major factors in your schedule are the type of grass you have, and how much lawn maintenance you want to be doing.
Let us look at the types of grasses for our starting point.
Warm Season Grasses Warm season grasses include St.
Augustine grass and Bermuda grass.
They grow quite rapidly in the warm weather season.
The timing of your fertilizing should be in the late spring through early fall.
This will promote growth during the peak of the growing season, giving you a lush green lawn.
During the spring to fall time period, fertilize the lawn every six to eight weeks for a consistent growth.
For this time frame, that would be about three applications over a six month period.
If you don't want to be mowing as much in a given year, you could cut back to one treatment in the early summer, and one in the late summer.
The growth will not be as large, but it should maintain the appearance of the grass.
Cool Season Grasses Cool season grasses include varieties such as tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass.
The peak seasons of growth for these grasses are during the cooler months of the fall and spring.
If your area has a very mild climate in winter, your cool season grass lawn could be growing throughout that time as well.
The timing of the fertilizer application should be in the fall and the spring, with potential applications in the winter depending on climate.
For cool season grasses, the fall fertilizer application is very important, as it promotes growth longer into the winter period, and helps store up reserves for the grass to resume its growth as spring approaches.
Once the spring weather appears, be cautious in jumping in quickly with more fertilizer, as you could end up encouraging top growth at the expense of root growth.
Another thing to remember about cool season grasses is that no fertilizing in the heat of summer is needed.
The heat causes growth of this variety to slow down quite a bit.
When applying the fertilizer, use a six to eight week spacing to promote an even growth through the season.
Do two to three applications in the fall, and one to two applications in the spring.
For a low maintenance approach, do one application in the fall and one in the spring.
General fertilizing tips When calculating the amount of fertilizer, just divide the annual amount of nitrogen required for your grass type by the number of applications you plan to do.
Use no more than one pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet of yard to avoid burning your yard.
Dry fertilizers can be spread with drop spreaders or broadcast spreaders.
A broadcast spreader can cover a larger area more quickly, so if you have a large yard, this type of spreader may be the best choice for you.
Liquid fertilizers are an option as well, they are usually applied with hose mounted dispensers.
It may be a bit harder to get an even application, but you can avoid the cost of a spreader.
Look at your particular lawn setup to determine what will work best for you.
Keeping your lawn fertilizing schedule on track is an important part of your yard maintenance program.
Follow these tips presented here, and you will be on your way to a great looking lawn.
The major factors in your schedule are the type of grass you have, and how much lawn maintenance you want to be doing.
Let us look at the types of grasses for our starting point.
Warm Season Grasses Warm season grasses include St.
Augustine grass and Bermuda grass.
They grow quite rapidly in the warm weather season.
The timing of your fertilizing should be in the late spring through early fall.
This will promote growth during the peak of the growing season, giving you a lush green lawn.
During the spring to fall time period, fertilize the lawn every six to eight weeks for a consistent growth.
For this time frame, that would be about three applications over a six month period.
If you don't want to be mowing as much in a given year, you could cut back to one treatment in the early summer, and one in the late summer.
The growth will not be as large, but it should maintain the appearance of the grass.
Cool Season Grasses Cool season grasses include varieties such as tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass.
The peak seasons of growth for these grasses are during the cooler months of the fall and spring.
If your area has a very mild climate in winter, your cool season grass lawn could be growing throughout that time as well.
The timing of the fertilizer application should be in the fall and the spring, with potential applications in the winter depending on climate.
For cool season grasses, the fall fertilizer application is very important, as it promotes growth longer into the winter period, and helps store up reserves for the grass to resume its growth as spring approaches.
Once the spring weather appears, be cautious in jumping in quickly with more fertilizer, as you could end up encouraging top growth at the expense of root growth.
Another thing to remember about cool season grasses is that no fertilizing in the heat of summer is needed.
The heat causes growth of this variety to slow down quite a bit.
When applying the fertilizer, use a six to eight week spacing to promote an even growth through the season.
Do two to three applications in the fall, and one to two applications in the spring.
For a low maintenance approach, do one application in the fall and one in the spring.
General fertilizing tips When calculating the amount of fertilizer, just divide the annual amount of nitrogen required for your grass type by the number of applications you plan to do.
Use no more than one pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet of yard to avoid burning your yard.
Dry fertilizers can be spread with drop spreaders or broadcast spreaders.
A broadcast spreader can cover a larger area more quickly, so if you have a large yard, this type of spreader may be the best choice for you.
Liquid fertilizers are an option as well, they are usually applied with hose mounted dispensers.
It may be a bit harder to get an even application, but you can avoid the cost of a spreader.
Look at your particular lawn setup to determine what will work best for you.
Keeping your lawn fertilizing schedule on track is an important part of your yard maintenance program.
Follow these tips presented here, and you will be on your way to a great looking lawn.