Winter Fertilization for Landscaping in Foristell, MO

August 7, 2017 Published by Leave your thoughts

Most grass species are hardy, and can remain healthy through even the harshest of winters with proper care. In order to keep your landscaping in Foristell, MO looking green and grand when next spring comes around, however, you should prepare to do some amount of preventative work before the winter season hits.

Determining the need

Winterizing fertilizers provide cool-season grasses with a boost of potassium that helps them stay strong for the season. Ultimately, there are two factors that will help you decide if your lawn needs winter fertilization: the potassium content of your soil, and the species of your grass.

Conducting a soil test is the only way to truly know how much potassium your soil contains. This can be done by taking a sample and shipping it to your local agricultural extension, or even bringing it in to select hardware stores. If you have been providing your lawn with proper nutrients throughout the growing season, you may not have to apply a winterizing fertilizer.

The type of grass that is growing in your lawn will also dictate whether you should be putting a winterizing fertilizer on your landscaping. Most winterizing fertilizers are formulated for cool-growing grasses, such as bluegrass and fescue. Cool-growing grasses experience the most growth during the fall season, so applying a winterizing fertilizer will help them expand their root systems prior to the arrival of cooler weather.

Warm-season grasses, however, should never have winterizing fertilizers applied to them. Grasses such as Bermuda, St. Augustine and centipede typically go dormant in the cooler months. Providing them with nutrients will trick them into thinking that they should continue growing, and may do long-term damage to the health of the plants. Warm-season grasses should only have potassium applied in the spring and summer, and never in the fall.

How to winterize

If you have determined that winterizing is right for your lawn, it is important that you approach the process correctly. It may be best to reach out to someone specializing in professional landscaping in Foristell, MO before you begin the winterization process.

You will want to apply your winterizing fertilizer after the grass has stopped growing for the season, but while it is still green. While potassium is a key ingredient of winterizing fertilizers, they will also contain a large amount of nitrogen. You should use a fertilizer that contains water-soluble nitrogen, so that it quickly goes into the ground and doesn’t wash off the lawn into any water supplies.

Lime can be applied in conjunction with a winterizing fertilizer. Applying lime in the late fall gives it a suitable amount of time to break down into calcium, and can give your grass an extra boost when the weather thaws in the spring.

Winterizing fertilizer should always be used in conjunction with other important lawn care techniques, such as core aeration and mulch mowing.

American Grasslands has been providing high quality lawn care and landscaping in Foristell, MO for nearly a decade. We take pride in our ability to provide homes and businesses with beautiful, impeccably manicured lawns. To learn more about how to winterize your yard, contact one of our helpful representatives today!

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