Like all living things, your lawn needs food to thrive and stay healthy, giving your Hudson, OH Area landscape the lush carpet of grass you want. Regular fertilizer applications can have a critical benefit for feeding the grass and helping it withstand the hot summer conditions well. Here is why landscaping companies recommend routine lawn fertilizer treatments.
What is fertilizer?
A fertilizer is a small granule that holds several essential nutrients that boost the health of your grass. Most fertilizers are slow-release, meaning they dissolve slowly over time to feed the lawn for a longer time than if they dissolved right away.
Fertilizer has three primary compounds: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. It also has other minor compounds that aid the grass plants but these are the top three essential nutrients.
Nitrogen: Grass plants use more nitrogen than any other nutrient. It is essential to protein formation in cells and you can see when grass plants are lacking nitrogen because the leaves will be yellow and smaller than usual.
Phosphorus: Phosphorus is needed to help a grass plant use and store energy. Remember that all plants rely on photosynthesis to make their food and phosphorus is part of that process. It also helps the grass plants form and grow well.
Potassium: This nutrient helps grass resist diseases that can kill the plants. Potassium helps the grass withstand the heat and dry conditions of summer and the freezing cold of winter.
Together, these nutrients are called the Big 3.
Fertilizer Applications
How much fertilizer to apply and when to make the applications can be confusing. Too much fertilizer can burn the grass plants while too little doesn’t bring about any significant change. Fortunately, a landscape professional can keep your lawn on schedule to boost its health and growth at the right intervals.
The first fertilizer application usually happens in the spring when the grass is beginning its high-growth period. A landscape professional can apply the fertilizer ratio that is tailored to your grass type for the best nutrition.
The second fertilizer application is in the early summer to help the grass weather the heat and lack of rain that can characterize the summer weather. This can be a crucial application that some people overlook but you want your grass to emerge from summer ready for a final fall growth period.
The third fertilizer application can be in the early fall when a landscape professional recommends aerating the lawn to plant new grass seeds. Once the aeration occurs, there will be small soil plugs that leave holes where the fertilizer, grass seeds, and water can have a chance to germinate. The fertilizer feeds the grass seedlings and the existing grass for a final month or two of growing.
Many landscape specialists recommend a final fertilizer application before winter to give the grass plants food to store up for winter.
So you can see the high value of regular fertilizer applications and the positive impact they can have on your lawn’s growth and health. If fertilizer timing feels too confusing or your busy schedule won’t allow you to keep the planned treatments, a landscape company can handle that lawn task and more with ease. Their fertilizer applications can transform your grass into the lush, healthy lawn you want in your landscape.
