When to fertilize your grass

Whether you have cool-season grass or warm-season grass, the general rule of thumb for the best time to fertilize your lawn is when it’s actively growing.

A lawn can be a labor of love, providing a place for the kids to kick the ball, to lay down a blanket for a picnic or even as a foil for the flower garden; a lawn can be beautiful to celebrate.  Planning the lawn’s fertilizer care around traditional times to celebrate is a convenient way to remember when to do so.

When to fertilize will depend on the type of grass you have.  There are two types of grasses:  Cool-season and warm-season. Don’t know if you have a cool-season or a warm-season grass?  Remember this:

Cool-season grass are those grasses actively growing when its cool, and its green in the summer, as well as, the winter.  Common cool-season grasses include fescues, bent grass, and bluegrass.  Cool-season grasses tend to flourish in the spring after breaking winter dormancy and in early fall, when temperatures moderate and droughts and heat waves are typically behind us.

Warm-season grass are those grasses actively growing when its warm, and its green in the summer and the color of hay in the winter.  Common warm-season grass include Zoysia, Centipede, and Bermuda.  Warm-season grass tend to flourish during the warmer summer months, and therefore require fertilizing shortly after green-up in the spring and again in the late summer months.

The following table are general fertilizing guidelines that can be used to help determine when to fertilizer your lawn.

Before you begin using the table as a reference, there are a few things to remember:

• Have your soil tested to find out exactly what nutrients your lawn needs.  The simplest way to avoid over-fertilizing your lawn is to have your soil tested.  Most states offer soil testing services; often this service is free.

• Lawns are often over-fertilized or when applied, it over spreads onto the property’s impervious surfaces, such as the sidewalk, driveway and the street.  The fertilizer is then washed away with rain or the sprinkler system ending into the stormwater drains which then goes into our lakes and streams.  After you apply fertilizer, be sure to sweep any overspray from impervious surfaces into the grass.

• Do not apply fertilizer to frozen ground or if heavy rain is in the weather forecast. Fertilize your lawn when the grass is dry. After fertilizing, water the lawn to wash the fertilizer off the grass blades and into the soil.

Helen  Yoest is a garden writer, speaker and garden coach through her business Gardening with Confidence™.

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Helen is a field editor for Better Homes and Gardens and Country Gardens magazine and she also serves on the board of advisors for the JC Raulston Arboretum.

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