My neighbors have greener lawns than I do. Should I fertilize my lawn now to make it green up faster?
Late March or early April is a good time to apply lawn fertilizer. Those who fertilized in September or October can probably wait until May for their first application. The carryover effect of fall fertilizer application is enough to give grass a good spring start.
You have three choices. If you have a lot of dandelions and other broadleaf weeds, a weed-and-feed combination of fertilizer and weed killer is a good choice. This accomplishes two jobs with one application. The difference in price between regular lawn fertilizer and weed and feed is usually only a couple of dollars. Grass should be wet when weed and feed is applied so that it sticks to the weed leaves. The weed killer is absorbed through the leaves and carried down to kill weed roots.
Another choice if you have few or no weeds is to apply a regular lawn fertilizer. There are many brands and formulations of lawn fertilizer. I prefer a balance of 3-0-2 nitrogen-phosphate-potassium. An organic fertilizer might have a 6-2-4 analysis. Most chemical lawn fertilizers have at least 15 per cent nitrogen, giving a 15-0-10 analysis. Many lawn fertilizers contain a higher percentage of nitrogen and a smaller percentage of potassium. They are also satisfactory. These numbers are prominently displayed on the bag. If you look at the guaranteed analysis label, you can see exact percentages and sources of each nutrient element.
