When Should I Fertilize My Lawn?

Can I jump start my spring lawn by fertilizing?

It’s tempting to think that applying a product can green things up immediately. Many of us have St. Augustine lawns, which are warm season grasses that handle our hot summers very well, but take a while to break dormancy in spring.

Our recommendation is to wait until you have mowed your lawn 2-3 times in spring before applying fertilizer.

This means that your grass will be actively growing, which is a great time to add nutrients to the soil. When you put fertilizer down earlier, you are often feeding weeds that have sprouted in the lawn.

What about “Weed and Feed”?

Because of the different timing of weed seed germination and actively growing grass, we do not recommend products with both fertilizer and pre-emergent. As we mentioned above, your lawn will not be actively growing for several weeks, therefore pre-emergent time is much too early to fertilize. You want to catch and suppress pesky weed seeds early in the season, just as the weather begins to shift. Pre-emergents form a membrane over the soil to keep the seeds from sprouting. Keep in mind that they have no effect on existing weeds. Post-emergents will help take care of the tender baby sprouts that have emerged.

Our knowledgeable garden advisors are available to answer your questions about your lawn and landscape every day.

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