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This time of year, it’s so nice outside you’re probably looking for early spring chores to do outside, from pruning to cleaning up garden tools. Is fertilizing your lawn one of those things?
It turns out, just as you can cut your grass too early in the spring, you can fertilize your lawn too early in the spring too.
When Country Living interviewed Jason Lanier, a turf management Extension Specialist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, to learn about common lawn fertilizing mistakes, we asked: is there a wrong time to fertilize your lawn?
Lanier answered: “Absolutely.” You want to time the fertilizer “to correspond with maximum turf grass growth.” Otherwise the nutrients may be wasted or worse—excess nutrients can cause environmental problems. “Nitrogen and phosphorus especially can be pollutants,” he said.
This means “avoid applying nutrients too early in the spring, during summer drought” (unless you’re irrigating enough to keep the grass growing), “and late in the season when plants will soon be dormant for winter.”
For example, applying Lanier’s advice to my own yard, it would be too early for me to fertilize my grass right now because, even though it’s warming up outside in Alabama as we head into April, my warm-season grass is still just waking up from winter and won’t ramp up for a while yet.
Frequency is another timing-related issue with lawn fertilizing that you may be wondering about. We asked Lanier about that too.
How often you want to fertilize is largely a matter of taste, as well as the specific needs of your lawn, says Lanier.
While a number of national lawn care companies advertise “4-step programs,” creating a widespread belief that once per season is optimal, it’s not always necessary. “One survey of households on Cape Cod revealed that the average homeowner fertilized just under 1.5 times per year. I fertilize my own lawn twice per year,” he says.
Signs your lawn may benefit from fertilizing include slow growth, thinning, and color changes like yellowing. If it endures stresses like insects, diseases, and traffic, then applying fertilizer can help, Lanier says.
“Like all plants, grasses need certain essential nutrients,” says Lanier. “Some older, low-maintenance lawns may not need much fertilizer input, but most lawns can benefit.”
Got more questions? See Country Living’s lawn fertilizing guide to learn more about over-fertilizing risks, applying fertilizer evenly, the best kind of fertilizer, and more tips.
Additional reporting by Christopher Michel.
Jason Lanier is an Extension Specialist and Group Leader, specializing in Turf Management at the UMass Amherst Extension, in Amherst, MA. Jason’s professional expertise is in plant stress physiology, water and nutrient management, and sustainability among other things. Learn more about Jason here.
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