April Lawn Aeration & Fertilization

March 26, 2013 | By webadmin

As April approaches, it's time to start planning for your first lawn aeration and fertilization of the year. The core aeration process pulls small plugs of soil from your lawn in order to remedy compaction, oxygenate your lawn's roots and stimulate microbial activity. In our heavy clay soils, compaction is a continual problem. Core aeration at least twice per year, ideally four times per year, is a great benefit.

When it comes to proper feeding of turf grasses, they will need several applications a year of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (Macro-Nutrients) in proper proportion to help keep it green and healthy. In early April, we'll use a complete fertilizer with all three Macro-Nutrients. Your fertilizer should have a 3-1-2 ratio. This same ratio should be applied in early fall. In late spring and early summer, a lower Nitrogen feed can be applied monthly for greening.

Remember that proper watering is key to a successful lawn, but it is the number one maintenance practice most often done improperly. Shallow frequent watering will damage your lawn's root system. It's best to water less frequently, but deeper (longer time period). Water your established lawn when it shows signs of need. This is usually once per week through most of the year and twice per week during the hottest months. When grass blades curl, that's when it needs a good soaking to a 6" depth. If your soils cannot absorb this much water all at once, you may need to split your watering during the same day.

Does this all sound like too much to keep track of? Here at Roundtree Landscaping, we also provide horticulturaly sound landscape maintenance and irrigation system audits. Please call us at 214-824-7036 or email us at rli@roundtreelandscaping.com if you'd like to discuss lawn fertilization or overall maintenance.