The best months are March or May and September or November. ' So, fertilizing a lawn in fall is possible, but warm season grasses are best fertilized when they first come out of their dormant period and begin to produce fresh green growth, in other words, in spring.
Fertilizing in the fall helps plants be hardier when the temperatures drop. We also recommend applying fertilizer in the late fall, toward the end of October or early November. This application will catalyze one last frenzy of root growth and really give your plants some staying power through the cold months.
Don't fertilize when it's winter or early spring
Your lawn needs an extended period to recover from the cold weather. Fertilizing in this season may cause your lawn to become weak and sickly. The ideal temperature to fertilize your lawn is 50-70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Fall is the best and most important time to fertilize your lawn because: Fall's morning dew delivers moisture to help turf absorb the fertilizer. The grass has a chance to build stamina before a chilly winter. Supporting root growth in fall leads to a healthier, greener lawn in spring.
Generally speaking, you should fertilize your lawn at least twice a year to ensure good overall health and keep your grass looking its greenest. But if you fertilize at the wrong time or over-treat your lawn, you could encourage weed growth, or possibly burn the grass.
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.
Although some fertilizers benefit from slightly moist grass, if your lawn is too wet, it will fail to properly absorb the nutrients. This includes both granular and liquid fertilizer products. You should avoid applying foliar fertilizer to wet grass because it could lead to nutrient burn.
Apply fall lawn fertilizer once between August and November, right before winter hits, 6 to 8 weeks after the summer feeding. Apply the Scotts® Turf Builder® Annual Program Fall product now if you've been following that regimen.
When To Fertilizer Your Lawn in the Fall. The best time to apply your last fertilizer application is between August 15 and October 1. Ideally, your last lawn feeding should take place six to eight weeks before the average first frost in your area.
Fall Fertilizer Timing
For the majority of cool-season lawn owners, apply fertilizer anywhere from September through early November. The further north you garden, the sooner you'll feed your lawn. Fine-tune the timing for your locale by talking with your local extension service or garden center.
Ideally, you'll want to mow and rake before fertilizing, so that excess lawn waste is removed and the fertilizer will have an easier time reaching the soil.
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.
During the growing season from spring through fall, your lawn, whether established or newly seeded, will perform best when fed four times, with each feeding applied 2 to 3 months apart.
The November fertilizer application is the second most important time for cultivating a cool season bluegrass or tall fescue lawn, with September being the most important application. The November application helps the lawn flourish in several ways.
Best Fall Lawn Fertilizer
While this fall lawn fertilizer dose is important, an application at the end of October or early November is essential. At that time, apply a fertilizer with a formula of 13-25-12. The push of phosphorus will stimulate root growth through November and even into early December.
Fertilize your lawn in early fall and again 6 to 8 weeks later with Scotts® Turf Builder® WinterGuard® Fall Weed & Feed. Not only will it help build strong, deep grass roots for a thicker, better lawn come spring, but it also provides nutrients to help repair damage from summer heat, drought, and activity.
While the best method for determining exactly how much fertilizer is needed is a soil analysis conducted by a laboratory, most cool-season grasses require 2 to 4 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet each year, and a majority of this nitrogen should be applied in two fall applications; one in September and the other ...
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.
Not only is fall fertilizer the most important feeding for the cold season, but it's also essential for a great spring lawn as well. Fertilizing in the fall gives your grass a head start for next spring by causing an earlier spring green-up.
Now a majority of arborists consider late September or October a great time to consider a fall fertilizer for trees and shrubs. They say to apply it then, or about a month after the first killing frost.
“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.
The composition of a fall fertilizer is a bit different than its winter counterpart. While both fertilizers contain potassium, winterizers usually contain a higher amount of this mineral to sustain your grass when the ground freezes.
Most people understand that fertilization helps to thicken a lawn. However, you want to make sure that you are using the best fertilizer to thicken grass if you truly want to get the best results.
The late afternoon or early evening is the best time of day to fertilize your lawn. With that said, you should never fertilize if there is direct hot sunlight on your lawn. This can lead to burning.