The Best Winter Lawn Fertilizers
The best winter lawn fertilizers depend on your climate, your grass type, how you want your lawn to look, and what fertilizers you have to work with. In general it is best to fertilize your lawn when it is going through its major growth cycle. Here we describe how to select the best winter lawn fertilizer for your lawn’s specific needs.
Grass Type
There are two types of grass available, those that enjoy cooler temperatures and those that thrive in warm temperatures. Grasses that prefer cooler temperatures have growth spurts in the fall before winter sets in and in the spring after winter has released its hold. These grasses prefer a larger amount of nitrogen in the fall growth spurt than the spring. Warm weather grasses flourish in the hottest months of the year and require fertilization then and to hold off in the winter. Therefore it is essential to know what kind of grass you have in order to properly fertilize.
Climate
Climate zones can help you predict what kind of grass you have and which seasonal changes will affect the time you should fertilize your lawn. If you live in a zone 1 climate such as Florida or a zone 2 climate such as Texas your grass will generally experience hotter more humid temperatures that prefer warm weather grasses that flourish in late spring and early summer. More central and northern climate zones such as zone 3, 4 and 5 in the Midwestern united states are known for their polarized seasons with very warm summers and very cold winters. This makes it essential to know exactly know what kind of grass you have planted (both warm and cooler weather grasses are popular here) to ensure you are fertilizing at the ideal time for your lawn.
Appearance
Lawns that are never fertilized will not be successful even when a regular watering schedule is maintained because the soil will be stripped of essential nutrients. If you don’t mind your grass dying back during the winter you can choose to only fertilize the lawn once a year at the most ideal time simply to keep the lawn alive, however if you want a lush lawn year round it is important to fertilize a lawn up to five times a year for the best results.
Fertilizers
Many fertilizers usually come as a mix of many compounds that are essential to fertilizing your lawn. The appropriate ratio of these chemicals depends on the timing of your fertilization schedule. www.allaboutlawns.com has excellent resources and charts that will help you determine the appropriate ratios of nutrients for your lawn.
Fertilizers often come with other additives to help your lawn stay strong, however it is important to select the right additives for your season as well. In general, it is better to fertilize your lawn with early in the year while it is still cold, weed killer in the spring and early summer months while everything is in bloom, plain fertilizer in the fall when the earth is settling down, and preemergence again late in the year when everything is hibernating.
