TREE & LAWN CARE BLOG
When To Fertilize Your Lawn In Fall For A Lush, Green Yard
The Ultimate Guide: When to Fertilize Your Lawn in Fall for a Lush Green Yard
Importance of Fall Lawn Fertilization
One of the primary reasons why fall lawn fertilization is essential is because it helps to strengthen the root system of your grass. As the temperature cools down, the grass shifts its focus from above-ground growth to underground root development. Applying fertilizer during this time provides the necessary nutrients for root growth, enabling your lawn to withstand the winter months and bounce back vigorously in the spring.
In addition to root development, fall fertilization also helps to improve the overall health and resilience of your lawn. The nutrients in the fertilizer promote thicker and stronger grass blades, making your yard more resistant to diseases, pests, and weeds. Moreover, fall fertilization helps to replenish any nutrients that may have been depleted during the summer months, ensuring that your lawn has everything it needs to thrive.
Understanding the Fall Fertilization Schedule
Knowing when to fertilize your lawn in the fall is crucial for achieving optimal results. The specific timing will depend on various factors, such as your grass type, climate, and geographical location. However, a general guideline is to apply fall fertilizer about 4 to 6 weeks before the first frost.
For cool-season grasses, such as Kentucky bluegrass and fescue, the ideal time to fertilize is early to mid-fall. This allows the grass to absorb the nutrients and store them in the root system before the winter dormancy period. Warm-season grasses, like Bermuda grass and zoysia, should be fertilized in late summer or early fall to promote healthy root growth and prepare for the winter season.
To determine the specific timing for your lawn, it is recommended to consult a local lawn care professional or refer to a lawn care calendar specific to your region. These resources take into account the climate and grass type prevalent in your area, providing you with accurate guidance for fall lawn fertilization.
Lawn Care Practices to Complement Fall Fertilization
While fall fertilization is an essential part of lawn care, it should be complemented by other practices to maximize the health and beauty of your yard. Here are a few additional steps you can take to ensure a flourishing lawn:
Mowing: Proper mowing is crucial during the fall season. Gradually lower the cutting height of your mower as the grass growth slows down. However, avoid cutting the grass too short, as this can stress the plants and make them more susceptible to winter damage.
Aeration: Fall is an excellent time to aerate your lawn. Aerating helps to alleviate soil compaction and allows air, water, and nutrients to reach the grassroots. This promotes better nutrient absorption and root growth, resulting in a healthier and more vibrant lawn.
Overseeding: If your lawn has bare patches or thin areas, overseeding can help to fill in those gaps and improve the overall density of your grass. Choose a high-quality grass seed blend that is suitable for your climate and grass type, and apply it after fertilization for optimal results.
By incorporating these lawn care practices alongside fall fertilization, you can create an optimal environment for your grass to flourish and enjoy a lush green yard.
Remember to consult local lawn care professionals for precise guidance. By investing time and effort into fall lawn fertilization, you can enjoy a beautiful yard that becomes the envy of the neighborhood. Start planning and preparing your lawn now to reap the rewards of a healthy, vibrant, and lush green yard in the near future.
Don't wait until it's too late! Start fertilizing your lawn this fall for a lush green yard next spring.
CONSULT A LAWN CARE PROFESSIONAL NOW
What To Do In Spring For The Perfect Lawn
What to do in Spring for a perfect lawn.
Spring is finally here! Help prepare your lawn for a year of healthy growth with the care it needs to help it thrive. With these steps, you will prepare your lawn to defeat the weeds, diseases and drought.
1.Rake
You’ll want to remove lingering fall leaves and grass blades that did not survive winter. Left alone, these dead blades add to your lawn's thatch layer.
2. Overseed
Fill bare or thin spots in the lawn by overseeding. Late spring is the best time to overseed warm-season grass. Fall is the ideal time for cool-season grass.
3. Aerate
Aeration is the solution for compacted soil in high traffic areas and is absolutely vital to the success of your lawn. How often you should aerate your lawn depends on soil type. A lawn care technician would be able to assess the correct timing for your particular lawn type. Late spring to early summer is the right time to aerate warm-season grasses. Fall is the best time for cool-season types.
4. Dethatch
Spring is the perfect time to dethatch turf. Aim for early spring for cool-season grasses and late spring to early summer for warm-season grasses. Learn more about dethatching by calling our office here.
5. Weed
If Crabgrass has taken over your lawn, apply pre-emergent herbicides ASAP to keep seeds that dropped last summer from germinating. Timing is critical for this application. You can call our office by clicking here to learn about application timing and pre-emergent application tips.
Use post-emergent broadleaf herbicides for perennial and winter annual weeds in warm-season lawns. Treat or dig perennial weeds as they start appearing in cool-season lawns or try 5 In 1 Weed & Feed. It kills lawn weeds like Dandelion and Clover, pulls kills Crabgrass. Learn more about post-emergent herbicides.
6. Fertilize
Fertilizer should be applied roughly three weeks after your grass begins to green up. If you fertilize too early, you will risk feeding the weeds as well as creating a fertilizer run off due to all the spring rain showers.
7. Water
Overwatering your lawn can do more damage than good. Let your lawn start to green up naturally and irrigate only if rains are scarce and grass shows signs of real dehydration. We usually get enough spring rain showers in Georgia to quench its thirst.
8. Mow
Be sure to cut at the proper height for your type of grass. You will want to avoid mowing too low because this allows sunlight to reach soil, encouraging weed seeds to germinate.
If you are interested in having a lawn care technician from our team come out and provide a customized lawn care plan to achieve your specific grass goals, click the link below to be directed to one of our client experience coordinators who can help you!
The Benefits of Aerating Your Lawn
Over time it’s very common to see your lawns vibrancy fade away, being replaced with bare spots, burnt spots and weeds. Without proper maintenance, a thick, lush lawn can diminish quickly. A few most common reasons for a dull lawn are:
Soil compaction
Heavy traffic
Lack of fertilization or watering schedule
High temperatures
Drought
So how do you get your lawn to thrive again?
The first step to a healthy lawn is healthy soil. This is the base component all things above ground feed off of, so it is important to maintain proper soil nutrients to get good results. Most suburban lawns fall victim to soil compaction from heavy traffic and everyday activities which strips your lawn from one of its main components - oxygen.
Aeration is a technique our lawn care specialists use to pull small soil cores out, breaking up the compaction and allowing oxygen to enter and organic matter from the cores to be spread throughout your lawn.
Aerating your soil before over-seeding can provide substantial growth. Our machines place small pockets all over your lawn, giving the grass seed optimal soil contact, boosting germination results and preventing wash outs.
If you have brown spots, burnt spots or trouble with weeds on your lawn, click the link below to be connected with one of our lawn care specialists now!
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Why Are There Tree Shoots All Over My Lawn?
Have you noticed a large amount of tree shoots and sprouts all over your lawn? There are a number of reasons this could be happening. While some trees are notorious for this, others might be under stress and it is best to have an ISA certified arborist come out to take a look and identify the issue.
What types of trees cause shoots to show up in my lawn?
The most common types of trees known to generate sprouts are ash & honey locust trees. Ash trees will generate shoots in your lawn when infested with the emerald ash borer while the honey locust is notorious for growing suckers.
How can I prevent tree suckers and sprouts on my lawn?
Since this usually happens when the tree is under stress and essentially trying to re-generate itself, the best practice would be having an ISA certified arborist or tree care professional come out to assess the health of your trees first. Alternatively, though it can be time consuming, you can manually remove the sprouts by using hand pruners. There are also sucker stopper products at most home improvement stores, however these can be very dangerous if used improperly and risk damaging your trees.
Before planting trees its best to consult with an arborist to identify low maintenance trees so you don’t run into this issue when it comes to the specimen. Getting your trees on a proper pruning maintenance plan ensures their health for years to come and can eliminate the risk of shoots in your lawn. If you have questions about your trees health, or any other concerns about tree care, click the link below to be connected with one of our arborists now!
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What Types of Fruit Trees Are Easiest To Grow In Georgia?
It’s almost dormant season for our trees which is a great time to start planning and planting trees for next year!
Fruit trees can be a blessing and a curse. Some varieties require a ton a maintenance whereas others can mostly tend to themselves with a smaller effort. We have made a list of our top easiest fruit trees to grow in Georgia weather to help you choose which is best for your lifestyle.
Apple Trees
Apple trees are a favorite in Georgia because they are easy to grow, cold hardy, perfect for most yards and supply a heavy harvest in late August through November. Common threats to Apple trees include:
Aphids
Japanese Beetles
Deer
Rabbits
Squirrels
Apple trees are most prone to diseases such as blight and mold so do your research and make sure you have a local certified Arborist nearby to diagnose and cure these before they take over.
Pear Trees
Pear trees are a second favorite because they are also cold hardy, heat resistant, and could be grown well in pots.
A few common threats are:
Aphids
Root rot
Pear trees thrive in the heat and the cold, but overly wet conditions can invite a dose of root rot in to kill off your precious trees. A certified Arborist can help diagnose tree root rot as well as perform a risk assessment for the placement of your pear trees!
Peach trees
Because who doesn’t love a good old Georgia peach? They are also fabulous in heat, great for vertical gardening and grow pretty quickly. So if you’re looking for a fruit tree to produce in 1-2 years, the peach tree is your candidate!
A few peach tree threats include:
Cold weather
Blight/mold disease
These are just a few of our top favorites in fruit trees. If you would like more reference on how to plant your fruit trees, please feel free to contact our office using the link below and we can connect you with one of our local certified Arborists! Happy planting!