The best time to fertilize grass is when the soil warms up to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. When winter begins to give way to spring and soil temperatures reach 55 degrees Fahrenheit over a period of 4 or 5 days, inactive plants, including grass, begin their surge of spring activity. This is the best time to fertilize. As a general rule, grass should not be fertilized when it is inactive.
The grass can lie idle when it's too cold or too hot. At the cold end of the spectrum, you should ensure that the air temperature is consistent at 60 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer. This will ensure that your lawn comes out of dormancy in spring and that it doesn't yet go dormant in the fall. Fertilize cold-season grasses during spring and fall, when average temperatures range between 60 and 70 degrees and when they experience their growth period.
Fertilize abundantly in autumn and lightly in early spring. Fertilize warm-season grasses during their optimal growth period of late spring and summer, when temperatures range between 80 and 95 degrees. With any type of lawn, you must ensure that the fertilizer is fully absorbed before the onset of high temperatures. Spring means more natural light and warmer temperatures.
After a cold winter, this is the weather your lawn craves. If you're not sure exactly when to make your first meal, you can base it on temperature. Ideally, the ground should be around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Depending on where you live, March to April is the best time to fertilize your lawn.
It's also best if you water your garden a few days before applying the fertilizer, either by rain or through a sprayer. Instead of worrying about the season, it's better to focus on the temperature. The best time to fertilize is when the soil temperature reaches 55 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, you'll start to see the first sign of flowers on the grass (or weeds, depending on how you look at it).
The best time to fertilize grass is in spring, when the soil temperature, not the air temperature, reaches 55º Fahrenheit. You'll know when the earth warms up to 55º because the lilacs will start to bloom and the grass will start to grow. This depends on whether you have cold-season grass or warm-season grass. The best time to fertilize grass is when the grass is actively growing, and for cold-season grasses, it is when temperatures range between 60 and 70 degrees F.
For warm-season grasses, active growth generally occurs when temperatures are between 75 and 85 degrees F. If you live in an area where the grass turns brown during the summer, you'll want to avoid fertilizing it while it's dormant. As for the deeper winter months, there is no benefit in feeding the grass at that time of year in most areas of the country, since the grass is inactive due to the cold. Warm-season herbs, such as centipede, Bermuda grass, St.
John's Wort. St. Augustine grass and zoysia grass actively grow and thrive when air temperatures are between 75 and 95 ºF. New shoots will begin to emerge once the soil temperature reaches 65ºF at a depth of 4 inches.
The energy for this new growth comes from carbohydrates that are stored in the crowns, rhizomes and stolons of lawns. The roots of warm-season grass die in late winter and also need to grow back during spring, when it turns green. Lawn fertilizers usually contain a higher percentage of nitrogen than other nutrients, and nitrogen promotes the growth of new shoots. In most parts of the country, that means the first application of lawn fertilizer should take place in mid-April.
If you get too anxious and think, “If a little fertilizer is good, then a lot of fertilizer is better, let us save you from yourself”. Today I'll talk about how you can balance the reality of wanting to fertilize early and at the end of the season, with the science behind how cold temperatures affect the way lawns use fertilizer. When it comes to types of applications, you might see professional landscapers treating grass during growing seasons with liquid fertilizers. Proper lawn irrigation and fertilization can promote a healthier lawn, with deep roots and a lush feel.
And what complicates the problem is that if lawn fertilizer isn't applied correctly, it can actually do more harm than good. The ideal is to mow the lawn and rake before fertilizing, so that excess grass waste is removed and the fertilizer reaches the soil more easily. Now that you have a good idea of when fertilization should take place, it's important to understand the composition of fertilizers and what components to look for when making your final choice. Light rain or snow after applying the fertilizer won't hurt, but a downpour the next day could remove the fertilizer.
Bob Vila says it's helpful to know if you have cold-season grass or warm-season grass when it comes to determining the right turf fertilization program. Unfortunately, most homeowners don't worry about fertilizing their grass because they simply don't know what products to use, or how and when to apply them. If you fertilize grass in summer, it can cause new, tender grass to grow when temperatures peak, and this new growth can burn out. Another important, but often overlooked, aspect of optimal fertilization is the speed at which the lawn is watered.
Supporting root system health with spring fertilization prepares your lawn for the stress of a hot summer. . .
Leave a Comment