If you have ever wondered what fertilization is and why it is important for your New Lenox, IL, lawn care, these tips will help. The right fertilizer can help your grass thrive during the hottest months and overwinter well.
What is fertilizer?
Just like food is to your body, fertilizer is to your grass. Fertilizer is composed of three primary nutrients and three secondary nutrients which are essential to boosting the growth and health of your lawn.
A landscaper applies this granule to your lawn at recommended intervals throughout the year to feed the grass. Fertilizer is composed of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, each of which gives your grass a unique nutrient.
Nitrogen is the nutrient your grass uses the most to develop healthy roots and blades and is essential to protein formation. Phosphorus helps grass use and store energy for photosynthesis in which the plant produces its own food. Potassium helps your grass resist disease and increases the quality of your plants.
When should fertilizer be applied?
Perhaps the most crucial fertilizer application is in the early spring when the grass is waking up from winter dormancy. The fertilizer is necessary to boost the root health and growth. After the cold of winter, your grass needs food to withstand the foot traffic, mowing, and other things that affect grass health.
Another application of fertilizer in late spring can give the grass food to store for the hot days of summer. The beating sun and lack of rain can sometimes make the grass wilt and struggle. Along with extra irrigation, fertilizer can help the grass through the hottest parts of the summer season.
Some landscapers recommend a mid-summer application of fertilizer to hold over the grass until the weather cools a bit. A final application happens in fall when they aerate your yard and plant new grass seed for new growth in the late fall. The aeration produces tiny holes which allow the seed to germinate and grow roots before the winter weather arrives.
What else is important to fertilization?
Along with fertilizer, your landscaper should schedule your irrigation system to water at specific times of the day to keep the grass seed damp and to allow the fertilizer to dissolve slowly. At this point, the grass needs to be moist throughout the day while normally, grass needs to be watered deeply to encourage root growth.
Another thing that is essential to your grass is sunshine and oxygen. The small holes from aeration allow the sunshine and oxygen to reach the roots. Along with the fertilizer, the sun and air can improve the overall growth of the grass and give you the lawn of your dreams.
Why should you entrust your yard to a professional?
Entrusting your yard to a professional can ensure that your lawn is in tip top shape. While fertilizer is necessary to feed the grass, too much can burn the grass while too little does nothing.
Fertilizer application must be timed correctly and specific to your grass type and climate. A professional landscaper has the team, the fertilizer formulas, and the equipment to boost your lawn into the dreamy landscape you want.
When your lawn is cared for throughout the year, you can have the lawn your neighbors envy.
Related: DON'T FORGET TO PLAN YOUR LAWN CARE FOR THE COLDER MONTHS IN FRANKFORT AND MANHATTAN, IL
