Your lawn is a unique ecosystem, potentially made up of different kinds of grass and other ground-covering plants that need specialized treatment. Here’s why different grass types require different fertilization schedules and how to ensure your lawn is properly cared for year-round.
Understanding Grass Types: Why Fertilization Schedules Matter
What Are Fertilizers?
Fertilizers may not be something you’re all that familiar with. In fact, many homeowners don’t realize that their lawns need to be fertilized at all. We most often associate the word with farming, but fertilization is critical to the healthy development of a lawn as much as it is a crop of wheat or vegetables.
Traditional fertilizers were made of animal waste, but modern technology has cleared the way for specific grass fertilizers that don’t smell or carry the potential for germs and bacteria. The three main chemical components of a good fertilizer are the elements nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Each of these aspects of a fertilizer targets different parts of a lawn, but they are all necessary for both cool- and warm-season grasses. Modern lawn fertilizers also do double duty, helping to curb pests or targeting specific kinds of unwanted lawn growth, like weeds and crabgrass. No matter your grass type, fertilization should be a part of your lawn care routine.
The Composition of Nashville Lawns
Nashville is in a bit of a unique setting, where our lawns can be made of either cool- or warm-season grasses. These types of grass have different needs, pros, and cons.
Cool-season grasses grow mostly in the spring and fall, when temperatures are cooler and the sun is less intense. Warm-season grasses are, of course, the opposite, growing best in the summer. They are adapted to more sunlight and drier soil. The most common types of grass found in Nashville include tall fescue, fine fescue, bermudagrass, Kentucky bluegrass, and centipedegrass. There are even more types of grass that do well in Nashville, but these are some of the most common options for homeowners and commercial businesses. Most lawns aren’t made of just grass. Other plants typically make up lawns, especially those that aren’t treated with herbicides to prevent them. Each lawn is different, which means it’s important to know the specific makeup of your grass before deciding on a lawn fertilization schedule. Read on for some tips on how and when to fertilize your grass, depending on the season and the composition of your lawn.
Warm-Season Grasses
Bermudagrass, zoysia, and centipedegrass are three of the more common warm-season grasses we see in existing lawns in Nashville. They’re also usually what is seeded or turfed on lawns for new homes or businesses, too. As the adage goes, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it! These warm-season grasses have worked for our climate for decades and produce lush and full-looking lawns when properly maintained and fertilized. Since warm-season grasses thrive in higher temperatures, they go dormant when things cool off, meaning you’re going to see the most growth in the summer. So, what should your grass fertilizer schedule look like for warm-season grasses? The best time to fertilize your warm-season lawn is in the mid to late spring to maximize the nutrient delivery to the grass root systems when it’s most needed. No matter the type of grass you have, it’s not a good idea to fertilize when temperatures are too high. This makes the early spring a great time to fertilize. Warm-season grasses can also be fertilized in the early summer, usually in June. Since temperature can determine when to fertilize, try to find a day or couple days in June when temperatures are below 85 degrees °F. If the temperatures are too high, watering after fertilizing can damage the lawn by raising soil temps too quickly.
Finally, fertilize in the early fall, like September. This helps your grass to store nutrients and prepare for its dormant months in the winter. While you fertilize in the spring, you may also consider lawn aeration. This process involves poking small holes in your turf before watering, seeding, and fertilizing to allow nutrients to penetrate deeper into the soil quickly. Aeration is best done in the early to mid-spring to ensure that temperatures aren’t too high, keeping the soil cooler than the air. The Parke Company offers aeration and fertilization maintenance schedules for all grass types and lawn sizes in the Nashville area since aeration and fertilizing call for precision and specialized equipment.
Cool-Season Grasses
So, what is the best schedule for lawn fertilization? For cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, and fine fescue, a slightly different plan of action is required for fertilization when compared to warm-season grass. As with warm-season grasses, the fertilization schedule for cool-season grasses has three suggested sessions of fertilizing. The first fertilization should happen in early spring, typically in mid-April (or earlier if temperatures are higher than average). Unlike warm-season grass, key fertilizing timing skips the rest of spring and summer. Instead, you’ll do round two of fertilizing in the early fall (September roughly) and go over again with fertilization in the late fall, around the end of October.
Help With Your Grass Fertilization Schedule
Managing a fertilization schedule for either type of grass requires some expertise, and it’s important to pay attention to the weather before, during, and after your fertilization. While it is possible to handle fertilization yourself, many opt to hire landscapers to do the job for the sake of simplicity. It takes a fairly big task off your plate, meaning you don’t need to go to the store and buy a bunch of fertilizer, keep specialized spreaders on hand all year, and check weather reports in the weeks and months around optimal fertilization time. The Parke Company is Nashville’s premier landscaping company, and we offer comprehensive lawn maintenance plans that give you back precious time in your day while ensuring your lawn is looking its best.
From fall cleanup to spring aeration and summer irrigation maintenance, we offer every service you need to keep your landscaping looking its best. Call us at The Parke Company today to learn more about how our landscaping services, including fertilization, can improve the quality of your Nashville lawn.