Key Takeaways
- Summer fertilizer strengthens lawns against heat, drought, pests, and foot traffic.
- Warm-season grasses need regular feeding; cool-season grasses require lighter applications.
- Fertilize early morning, evening, or on cooler days to avoid scorching.
- Water after fertilizing to prevent burn and ensure nutrients are absorbed effectively.
It’s a time many of us await all year long: summer!
And while you’ll want to spend more time enjoying the beach, pool, and cookouts than you will be tending to your lawn, summer lawn fertilizer is still an important facet of landscaping care.
Fertilizing as part of summer lawn care ensures your backyard is ready for everything coming over the warm season, including bare feet trampling grass underfoot, sweltering heat, high humidity, and even periods of drought.
Ahead, SunCo provides all the information you need for summer lawn fertilizing.
The Benefits of Summer Lawn Fertilizer
Think of fertilizer as lawn food, and that alone will tell you how important it is.
The best lawn fertilizer is packed full of macronutrients like phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen, as well as micronutrients that help you maintain a lush lawn.
Here’s why prioritizing regular fertilizer feedings all summer will set up your lawn for a successful season.
Maintains Its Beauty
There’s hardly a season where friends, family, and neighbors see your lawn more often than summer. This is not a time when you want your lawn to be shabby, coarse, or wilted.
Rather than looking browned and bald, you want a lush, green, healthy, beautiful lawn that feels as nice to walk on as it does to look at.
Encourages Growth
Fertilizer’s nutrients will keep your grasses and plants growing, but not only on the surface. Deep below the soil, on a root level, the nutrients will strengthen plant roots to encourage a season of blooming.
Maintains Resistance
Remember, summer might be fun for us people, but it’s not so great for your lawn. The beating sun and unrelenting heat don’t do your plants and grasses any favors, nor do the long stretches of heat without any rain.
Fertilizing your lawn keeps your greenery healthy so it can withstand these tough periods without wilting or dying.
Your plants can continue to fend for themselves from pests, diseases, and broadleaf weeds.
When To Fertilize Your Lawn in Summer
You started getting diligent about lawn fertilization in early spring. When is it time to switch gears and prep your lawn for summer fertilizer?
Plan for this facet of lawn care to begin in early summer. Count out about six weeks, maybe eight weeks at the latest, from when you last fertilized your lawn for spring, and begin then.
Choosing the Right Type of Summer Fertilizer
What kind of grass do you have in your yard? Depending on how you answer that question, you should choose slow-release fertilizers versus others.
If your lawn is full of warm-season grasses like Bahiagrass or Bermudagrass, you’re better off using a quick-release fertilizer application.
This grass type requires regular feedings over the summer months, so a fast-acting formula will do. Of course, your fertilizer feeds can include slow-release fertilizer, whatever works best for your lawn.
As for a lawn full of cool-season grass, such as tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass, you still need to plan to fertilize during the summer months. However, you should apply a lighter dose.
This way, your lawn receives the nutrients it needs to fight off weeds and experience growth without risk of being exposed to too much nitrogen.
Tips for Applying Fertilizer in Summer
Getting your lawn summer-ready with fertilizer is as easy as following these steps from SunCo.
Heat Is Not Your Friend
Summer is full of hot days (and sometimes nights), meaning you’ll have to plan your application strategically until the temps begin cooling in late summer.
Apply fertilizer early in the morning or in the afternoon before the sun reaches its peak and the day gets its hottest.
You can also fertilize after sundown, taking advantage of the longer hours of daylight that summer brings. And, if none of these periods are suitable for your schedule, then wait until a cooler day arrives and fertilize.
Beware of Excess Nitrogen
Too much of a good thing can quickly become bad, and that’s the case for fertilizer, too.
Learn how much to use for warm and cool-season lawns alike. Excess fertilizer can lead to wilting, scorching, and sometimes even plant death in severe cases.
Apply the recommended amount of fertilizer according to the manufacturer.
For cool weather grasses, use water to dilute the formula. Make sure to sprinkle an even, consistent layer on the grass.
Follow product recommendations for reapplication. Remember, you’ll apply fertilizer a lot more often if you use a quick-release product.
Prep Your Yard
Before you fertilize, do your lawn a favor and get it ready for summer. Mow your lawn several days in advance, and watch your mowing height.
Somewhat taller grass doesn’t dry out as quickly. Water your lawn, but not to the point of sogginess.
Water After Applying
Lawn prep isn’t the only time you should plan for watering. You should also nourish your grasses with H2O after applying fertilizer to the soil.
You’ll keep your grasses from burning and allow the nutrients to be better absorbed.
SunCo: Your Guide to a Greener Lawn All Summer
Grass care is trickiest in the summer. While you’re busy worrying about soil amendments or how to kill weeds, your lawn still requires fertilizer.
Now that you know the basics of summer fertilizer, you can go forth and enjoy a healthier lawn.
Of course, if you need assistance with any facet of grass care, from when to fertilize to identifying which types of grasses you have, you can always rely on SunCo. Contact us here and get started today.
