The Grass Doctor

Winter lawn care - shall i use fertilizers on the lawn?

I have just closed on my house and the lawn is already looking brawn compared to neighbor's. The previous owner obviously didn't take good care of it. I am in Chicago area, so far the temperature has been mild this winter, about 40-50F. My question is, shall I use some winter fertilizer on the lawn? Would it be too late to use it? What type of fertilizer would you recommend? Besides using fertilizers, what are the other necessary steps i should take to have a beautiful lawn next spring? Thanks.

Public Comments

1. start fresh in the spring unless you want to over seed you can do that now
2. yes this is a good time to fert lawn, i use a winterizer in fall n winter months, can even put on frozen lawn. When snow melts in spring it will release n fert lawn. Then in may-june use a turf builder with weed n feed to get rid of unwanted weeds. then do cycle over again winterizer in late fall around sep. i wouls also reseed lawn, aeration is very good too..in a year u will have a bruilliant green lawn...hope this helps
3. Its pretty late to be putting down a winter fertilizer in Chi-town at this time. As you know, even though the weather has been somewhat mild so far, all it takes is a cold freeze settling down from the Great Lakes region to ruin what you are trying to accomplish. Although you may wish your yard looked better than it does, not very many people in the northern states make a fuss about it through the winter months as the snow and freezing weather is only a matter of time and the best kept lawns will eventually succumb to the harsh winter months. If it were me, I would wait until the spring after all danger of freezing weather has gone by the wayside to do a thorough renovation. More than likely your turf is of the "cool" season variety (northern half of the country) so, you can give it a good aeration and over seed with the appropriate variety, fertilize, and treat for any spring germinating weeds that may be already present. If you follow these procedures, by the time summer rolls around, your yard will look as good if not better than the neighbors. Spring is the time when people want to have their lawns and yard looking tip top and the spring weather always gets the juices flowing when it comes to making your landscape look nice.... Hope this answers your question... Good luck!..... http://www.american-lawns.com/states/il.html http://www.american-lawns.com/lawns/aeration.html http://www.american-lawns.com/lawns/fertilizing.html ...Billy Ray
4. To increase the fullness and vigor of your lawn, you'll need to begin a fertilizing and aerification program. It's not the optimum time but you could still make a late fall application as long as the ground is not frozen. You can still put it out on frozen ground, it's just not the best practice and you may lose a considerable amount of the fertilizer to run-off should there be a heavy rain or rapid snow melt when the ground is still frozen and can't absorb the water. If you're going to do it, I'd suggest doing it in the next few days because the weather is going to turn nasty here in the upper midwest/Great Lakes pretty quick and according to the long range forecasts we could be in for quite a bit of snow in the next 3 weeks. Fall fertilization is probably the most important fert app you can make because of its effect on root growth, carbohydrate production, and winter hardiness. One of the results of these effects are longer color retention in the fall and earlier spring green up. I would suggest using Scott's Winterguard for fall applications or another product with an analysis somewhere in the 20-5-10 range. The analysis is the 3 numbers on the front of the bag that represent the percentage of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), and Potassium (K) in that fertilizer so a 20-5-10 fertilizer is 20%N, 5%P and 10%K. The %P and %K are actually the percentages of phophate and potash so the percentage of actual plant available P and K is slightly lower. Next spring you could start a fertilization program. The Scott's Step program is great for homeowners because it basically tells you when and how much fertilizer to apply and also incorporates most of the necessary herbicides and insecticides at the appropriate times. You'd probably want to consider a crabgrass pre-emergent herbicide application in the spring which is included in the Scott's Step 1 application if you decide to use that program. As far as aerification, you should consider aerifying at least once a year in the fall (some people think spring is better if you're only going to do it once a year but I disagagree for a number of reasons) but if your lawn is in bad shape you could do it twice a year (spring and fall). This will alleviate soil compaction and allow more oxygen, water, and nutrients to get into the root zone which will result in deeper, healthier roots. Unless your lawn is thin and/or you have some bare spots, there is no need to overseed. Furthermore, overseeding following a spring application of crabgrass pre-emergent is totally pointless as the pre-emergent will also prevent the grass seed from germinating. Adequate irrigation and proper maintenance will also do wonders to keep your lawn healthy. Try to avoid removing more than a third of the grass blade when mowing (i.e. if the grass is 3" high, your mower should be set no lower than 2") and leaving heavy clippings laying in the grass. Try to also avoid mowing when the grass is wet as this can cause scalping and heavy clippiing build up. Maintain your lawn at no lower than 2" as most cool season grasses (Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fescues - the grasses typically used for lawns in this part of the country) under a typical home lawn maintenance regime will not tolerate lower cutting very well. Lastly, make sure your mower blade is sharp - a dull blade will tear the leaf tissue which can stress the plant and will make it more susceptible to insects and dieseases.