We recommend waiting 24 hours after fertilizing to water your lawn, which will give the fertilizer time to settle. After the 24 hours are up, it's important to give it a good soak—not just a quick spritz with your hose—to activate the fertilizer and help the critical nutrients absorb into the soil.
Watering after fertilizing washes the fertilizer off of the grass blades and into the soil, where it can get to work nourishing your lawn. It's also important because if fertilizer sits too long without being watered in, it can burn the grass.
At Master Lawn, we typically say to wait 24 hours before watering your lawn after fertilizing. But it is important to make sure that it does receive a good watering session soon after that 24 hour waiting period. Watering helps the fertilizer to activate and to break down and begin feeding nutrients to the lawn.
Rain After Fertilizer -- Liquid Applications
While liquid fertilizers are water soluble and have slow-release properties similar to granular products, they hold onto the plant material and organic matter when sprayed and the plant quickly absorbs them. But they need 30 minutes of drying time before becoming rainfast.
Don't fertilize during a drought.
Most fertilizers need a thorough watering or two to soak into the soil, and allowing the fertilizer to sit on top of the lawn without watering it in could burn the grass. You may want to delay the application until wet weather arrives.
Most people do not recommend lawn fertilizing on wet grass, however, because it dilutes nutrients and may pollute water sources nearby. You should evenly water the whole lawn before application of any fertilizer. Using sprinklers is the closest you can get to evenly dampening your real grass.
While standard fertilizers can be applied to dry or wet grass and can be watered-in immediately, fertilizers with weed killer typically should not be watered-in for 24 hours after application.
In fact, it's good! Water helps fertilizer fully absorb into the soil. Mild rain after you fertilize is nothing to worry about. But a downpour, or several days of consistent rain, can be a problem.
Will Rain Wash Away Fertilizer? The problem with fertilizing just before heavy rainfall is that the water won't have time to slowly filter down into the ground and deliver the nutrients where they need to go. Instead, it will simply wash your fertilizer into the nearest storm drain.
Always follow the manufacturers recommended rates and application methods. Fertilize outdoor plants in the coolest part of the day, such as early morning or late evening, especially in hot summer weather. Always water in fertilizers well to distribute nutrients throughout the soil profile and to prevent burning.
It depends on the fertilizer. Some lawn foods perform better when you water them in right after applying, while others—such as some weed-and-feed products—need to be watered a day or two after fertilizing.
3) Apply to Wet Lawn: Make sure the grass is wet from dew or sprinkling before applying. This helps particles adhere to weed leaves to produce best results. For even application walk at a steady pace slightly overlapping each pass. After applying this product you don't water your lawn for at least 24 hours.
We recommend using a Scotts® spreader to apply this product. For Scotts® broadcast/rotary spreaders, use a setting of 3 ¾. For Scotts® drop spreaders, use a setting of 7 ¼. Do not water your lawn for 24 hours after application or apply if rain is expected within the next 24 hours.
You can usually apply most non-liquid granular fertilizers to wet grass, but not saturated ground. If there are ponds or heavy rain, it's best to wait until the ground processes the water before applying any type of fertilizer. If there's light rain, it's okay to spread dry granular fertilizer.
You should fertilize your lawn a day or so after a light rain or using a sprinkler. This prevents the application from being washed away. The moisture gets your soil damp and ready to receive nutrients. Do not apply fertilizer before or after heavy rains.
Early morning is the best time of day to fertilize your lawn. Fresh morning dew provides just enough moisture for your grass to absorb the fertilizer.
If there is no rain in the forecast, by all means, water it in yourself. Otherwise, you're just throwing away good materials. If you're working with a pelletized fertilizer, the pellets will dissolve like sugar cubes and spread out, covering virtually all of the soil.
It only takes between two to four weeks for quick-release lawn fertilizer to be absorbed completely. What is this? Slow-release fertilizers take much longer to break down, so it takes more time for all the nutrients to be absorbed by the soil and grass plants.
Tips for applying granulated fertilizer
Always wash fertilizer granules off of foliage. Activate the granulated fertilizer by watering it in right after applying.
The answer not very cut and dry, but here is the bottom line: The vast majority of the time, rain after a fertilizer application is not a problem at all. In fact, it is usually a good thing.
Can I fertilize my lawn every 2 weeks? To avoid over-fertilizing, applying a fertilizer every two weeks is not recommended. Fertilizing as often as every two weeks will likely lead to problems such as lawn burn, excessive grass growth, as well as polluted water that can lead to toxic algae growth.
A well-fed lawn is healthier, which means it has a better root system to combat heat, cold, drought, mowing, foot traffic, and other stresses. While feeding your lawn once a year will improve its condition, feeding it 4 times a year will make it even healthier and more beautiful.
If you apply fertilizer immediately after mowing, it can further stress the grass and cause burn damage. It can result in yellowing, browning, or even the death of the grass. It's suggested to wait 24 to 48 hours before fertilizing to allow the grass to recover and reduces the risk of damage.
“I don't recommend fertilizing before or after a heavy rain because the fertilizer can be leached out of the soil or washed away before it can be consumed by the root zone,” Clarke says. Instead, the best time to fertilize the lawn is right before a light to moderate rainfall.
It's important to note that you can water your lawn before applying fertilizer but if there is a torrential down-pour on its way, it's best to hold off. Fertilizing waterlogged grass can cause the chemicals to runoff. Never apply fertilizer to waterlogged or frozen soil.