Fertilizing Your Lawn: Let’s Have a Green Year
5 Tips for the Best Lawn Yet
It’s been a fairly mild winter, and Paramount customers may see that their lawns are already greening up. Fertilizing your lawn extends the lush season to earlier in the spring and later in the fall– if your lawn fertilization program is well-tailored, you may enjoy green grass year-round in the Cincinnati area!
Here are our five tips for your best lawn yet– our goal is for you to love your lawn!
- Get on a schedule
- Use high-quality fertilizer
- Control for weeds, too
- Add in insect and grub control
- Install an irrigation system
Fertilizing Your Lawn Tip #1:
Get on a Schedule
Planning and timing are crucial with lawn care. In the Cincinnati area, the lawn fertilizer schedule starts late February/early March with the first application of fertilizer. This primes your turf to spring into action as soon as the spring growing season starts.
After the first application of fertilizer, we recommend five more applications throughout the year. From late spring to early fall, rapid-release fertilizer promotes immediate growth. The early summer application occurs before temperatures reach their summer peak. The late summer and fall applications help heal any damage from summer heat and activity.
In late fall, the fertilizer type should be changed to slow-release, to prepare your lawn for its winter dormant season and the following spring.
Then, each year, the cycle repeats!
Fertilizing Your Lawn Tip #2:
Use High-Quality Products
Another key element of fertilizing your lawn is to choose high-quality fertilizer products. Turf thrives when these nutrients are in balance:
- Nitrogen
- Phosphorus
- Potassium
When choosing a lawn fertilizer, it’s important to understand your lawn type and soil composition. Soil testing will show what nutrients are lacking. New lawns vs. established lawns also have different nutritional needs, as do different varieties of turf (i.e., fescue, bluegrass, etc.).
For a thorough deep-dive into what fertilizer is and how it works, read “Fertilizing Lawns” from the University of Minnesota Extension office. This resource breaks down information by natural and manufactured fertilizers and educates on the three most important nutrients for turf.
Fertilizing Your Lawn Tip #3:
Weed Control, Too
Weeds also love fertilizer, and without scheduled weed control, they will take over your lawn. Just like for fertilizing your lawn, timing is critical. For instance, crabgrass preventer should be applied in early spring, before the seeds germinate. Dandelion weed control has to happen as this weed grows; dandelions can’t be prevented from growing.
Here are some common weeds that like to pop up in our area:
- Crabgrass
- Dandelions
- White clover
- Bindweed
- Nutsedge
- Chickweed
- Creeping Charlie
- Thistles
- Broadleaf plantain
- Nimblewill
- Poison ivy
- Wild violet
- And more!
Fertilizing Your Lawn Tip #4:
Avoid a Grubby Summer
Grub control eliminates those white, wormy beetle larvae that eat away turf roots and create large patches of brown, dead grass in your lawn. It’s important to prevent grubs. Since they live underground, you won’t even know they are there until your lawn starts to die off. We recommend applying grub control in early summer.
Fertilizing Your Lawn Tip #5:
When to Water
After each application of fertilizer, it’s good to water your lawn. If you turn on your sprinklers within 24 hours, the fertilizer will seep into the ground and reach the roots. Also, fertilizer will wash off the blades of grass, preventing leaf burn.
Along with a fertilization schedule, sprinkler system installation keeps your lawn green, even in the hottest, driest summers. New, smart watering technology automatically optimizes for lawn health and water conservation.
Fertilizing Your Lawn with Paramount
Paramount’s Lawn Fertilization Program is comprehensive, including everything your lawn needs to grow vibrant and green:
- 6 rounds of fertilizer each year
- 2 rounds of crabgrass preventer
- Up to 6 rounds of broadleaf weed control, as needed
- 1 round of insect and grub control
So, this year, take fertilizing your lawn off your plate and entrust our experts with your lawn care. The grass is greener on the Paramount side! Get an instant quote online, or contact us with questions.
