When you see a gorgeous, lush lawn, you might not realize that landscaping companies apply lawn fertilizer to many Pepper Pike, OH, properties for a boost in nutrients for the grass. Here are the reasons why lawn fertilizer is a top recommendation for your grass.
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Grass Nutrition
Your lawn needs food like every other living thing. The nutrition your grass requires is specific to the grass type but all lawns need nutrients to grow full and healthy. Chances are good if you see an impressive lawn, a landscape company has nurtured the grass with the right food.
An issue that affects your grass is when the soil leeches the nutrients away so the grass roots have no food. This can happen when it rains and the stormwater removes the nutrition from the soil. Lawn fertilizer contains three primary nutrients that your grass needs to boost growth and ward off pests and disease.
Nitrogen: This nutrient is the most used by your grass. Nitrogen helps your grass produce healthy leaves and boosts the chlorophyll production that allows the grass to make its food. All living plants make food through photosynthesis where they combine sunlight with water and carbon dioxide. Nitrogen gives your grass a quick boost for fast growth and sustains the plant with chlorophyll production.
Potassium: Potassium gives your lawn protection from pests and disease that can enter to kill the grass all the way to the roots. Drought and heat can also damage the lawn but potassium helps with that, too.
Phosphorus: Phosphorus helps the plants through environmental stress such as lack of rain and hot summer sun. Too little phosphorus will leave your grass sickly and weak. You must be careful with phosphorus because it can leak into the groundwater and cause problems if there is too much.
When to Feed
Most landscaping companies will say to feed your lawn with fertilizer two or three times per year. The first is in the early spring when the grass has been dormant and needs a nutritional boost to green up. The second is mid-summer when the grass is stressed from the heat and low water.
It is best to let a landscape profession handle the fertilizer application in summer because too much fertilizer without watering can burn the grass. The final application of fertilizer should happen in late fall before winter to give the grass time to store up food.
Proper Fertilizer Application
Fertilizer must be applied in the right ratio for your particular grass. After the fertilizer is spread, the grass must be watered to allow the fertilizer to sink into the ground slowly.
Mowing Correctly
Another way to boost the health of your lawn is for a landscape crew to mow the grass on the highest setting. They understand that the grass should be mowed in a different direction each time to keep the grass growing evenly. Mowing in the same direction can cause certain parts of the lawn to stay shorter than others, causing problems with the roots.
Fertilizer can be a tricky addition to your lawn and that’s why it is best to have a landscape professional handle the application. When you do have your lawn fertilized, you can see a healthy, lush stand of grass that weathers the hot summer well.
