Is Fall A Good Time To Fertilize The Lawn?

The ideal time to fertilize a lawn is when the grass is growing. At the end of fall and entering into winter, some Tulsa lawns start to grow dormant, so why bother fertilizing? That is a good question. Our answer is likely to surprise you. Read on to learn why fall isn't just a good time to fertilize but a great time to do it.

What's going on just under the surface?

In early fall, grass roots are digging in and preparing the turfgrass for winter. When those roots start to grow, you want to help them as much as you can. That is why early fall fertilization is important. For certain grasses, fertilization in the fall is more important than in the spring.

What does fall fertilizer do for your lawn?

When you give your roots a boost, it does a few things. First, it helps your grass get out of the summer slump. A hot summer can start to make your lawn look dull. A good fertilization in early fall brings that green color back. Fertilizer also prepares your lawn for winter stress and helps it bounce back quickly in the spring. All of this means greener fall grass and greener spring grass.

Let's break down the composition of your fertilizer

It is easy to understand that fertilizer is food for your grass. It is much harder to understand what kind of food your grass needs for healthy growth. You can't just say, "Eat your veggies!" There's a lot to it, which is why property owners have trouble. There are basically three kinds of nutrients your lawn needs:

Nitrogen: This nutrient helps your grass grow faster and turn greener.
Phosphorus: This nutrient helps your roots grow deep and strong.
Potassium: This nutrient helps your grass grow strong enough to fight diseases and drought and to out-compete weeds.

These three nutrients are what your turfgrass needs and it gets them from the soil. If soil is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, you're all set. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. You need to check the pH balance of your soil routinely and find out where it is deficient. Then, you can get the right fertilizer to give your lawn the nutrients it needs.

Timing is critical for fertilizer application

Giving your soil the right fertilizer to feed your grass is only one piece of the puzzle. There are other important pieces that must fit into place. One big one is the type of grass you have. There is a big difference between warm-season and cool-season grasses, and they have different growing seasons. Remember, you want to apply fertilizer when grass or grass roots are growing.

A warm-season grass, like Bermudagrass, needs fertilization earlier in the fall. This grass type grows dormant earlier and starts to get a little brown if you don't feed it well.

A cool-season grass, like tall fescue, needs a feeding toward the end of fall. It can grow deep roots, but you need to help the roots at the right time.

What can you do to maintain a great lawn?

The best way to maintain your lawn is to partner with a local lawn care company with experience and expertise. At Nutri-Green, our lawn care professionals provide lawns with the nutrients and weed control they need. We also select appropriate products and apply them, as needed, throughout the year. We also handle other lawn care tasks, like aeration and weed control.

Every lawn needs continual care. If you tackle the cutting and watering (check out our helpful articles on those topics and others in our Learning Center), your lawn care professional can handle the rest.

The best in Tulsa lawn care

When you want to keep your lawn looking its best all year long, it pays to get a lawn care service plan from Nutri-Green. Check out our Basic, Preferred, and Premier Lawn Protection plans. If you choose Premier Lawn Protection, here are just a few of the ways we give your lawn what it needs in the fall.

We perform a 21-point lawn analysis and determine the specific needs of your soil and lawn.
We test the soil pH balance so that we can select the exact product your lawn needs.
We apply advanced fertilizer with turf booster for healthy root growth.
We aerate the soil so nutrients from the fertilizer, along with water and air, can get to the growing roots.
We apply appropriate pre-emergent weed control so that your grass doesn't have to compete with weeds in the spring.

The Nutri-Green team knows what your lawn needs to stay healthy and green all year long. We don't just throw fertilizer on it. There is a science to lawn care. Here are a few more reasons to choose Nutri-Green:

We are your local lawn care experts, serving Tulsa since 2001.
We apply customized care to make sure your lawn gets exactly what it needs.
We apply family and pet-friendly treatments, and we back our service with a worry-free guarantee.
We provide free service calls and are available when you need us.

Are you ready to get started? We're here to help property owners in Claremore, Sperry, and Tulsa, as well as throughout Eastern Oklahoma; contact Nutri-Green Lawn Care today.