In the happiness that springs brings, you want your Homer Glen, IL, lawn to look its best. You know that the grass needs fertilizer but when do landscapers near me say it is the right time for lawn fertilization?
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What is Fertilizer?
Fertilizer is food that landscapers use to encourage your grass to green up and grow after the dormant winter months. It has so many benefits for your lawn but too much fertilizer can actually damage your grass. Because soil loses its nutrients over time, they use fertilizer to add nutrition back into the dirt for the grass to use for good health.
In general, the best time to fertilize your lawn is right at the start of the growing season but that can be confusing. Does that mean right when you see the early blades? Is the right time when the whole lawn has filled in? It can be stressful feeling like you have missed the fertilization window.
Composed of three main nutrients, phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, fertilizer functions to give your grass what it needs to grow strong and healthy. Phosphorus is for helping plants grow and develop normally and can also help with food production for the grass while potassium can be critical to help your grass resist disease and strengthen the root system. Nitrogen is the most absorbed nutrient by your grass as it is essential in helping the grass form protein which is the basis of cells.
When is the Right Time for Application?
A landscaper knows that the timing of fertilizer application can have a big impact on the outcome for your lawn. Applying too late in the day can let the fertilizer sit on the grass and the sun can burn the roots while an application in the heat can stop the nutrients from sinking into the soil.
When your landscaper makes an application of fertilizer, they most often do it in the cool of the early morning before the sun has a chance to burn off the moisture which can help to dissolve the fertilizer and makes the nutrients available to the roots. Watering the fertilizer into the ground is also part of the process of allowing the nutrition to penetrate the soil and be absorbed by the roots.
How Does Fertilizer Help Your Grass?
Your lawn can grow without fertilizer but the addition of these crucial nutrients can do several things for your grass. A healthy lawn will naturally choke out the weeds and remove their opportunity to thrive. When your grass is growing well and producing a lush, green blade, this can mean that the soil is balanced with healthy microorganisms that aid in the air and sunlight reaching the roots, creating a permeable soil that lets in all of the positive things that your grass needs to grow vigorously.
Once your grass is thriving, it is less susceptible to weeds, pests that can damage the roots and blades, and diseases that can spread and cause the grass to struggle and potentially die. A healthy lawn can withstand the hottest rays of the summer because it has what it needs to survive well. Your landscaper understands the relationship of fertilizer to creating a strong stand of grass for a pristine lawn.
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