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When to Fertilize
The million dollar question for many people is "when to fertilize?" To answer this question, you should consider these four factors: climate, grass type, the fertilizer being used, and how you want your lawn to look. For those of us who want our lawn looking its best, then it's a good idea to fertilize your lawn 4-5 times a year. Conversely, even if you don't want a good looking lawn, you should at least fertilize twice a year for your grass's sake.
There are two types of grasses: Warm-Season & Cool-Season. Each grass has its own growing season, therefore, each requires a different schedule for fertilizing. As a rule of thumb, it is best to apply fertilizers when your lawn is actively growing. If you fertilize with nitrogen while your lawn is dormant, you can encourage weed growth, and ultimately waste fertilizer.
Cool-Season Grasses tend to have two flourishing (or growing) periods. The first is after the lawn's return from winter dormancy. The second is during the early fall, when temperatures moderate and droughts and heat waves typically are gone (after August). For Cool-Season lawns in the north, it is usually best to concentrate a larger amount of nitrogen to be applied during the early fall growing period and a lesser amount in the spring.
Warm-Season Grasses flourish during the warmer summer months, and therefore tend to require fertilizing shortly after green-up in the spring and again in the late summer months. For Warm-Season grasses in the southern areas, it is best to concentrate a larger amount of nitrogen to be applied during the early-late spring applications and a lesser amount in the fall.
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