Time & Temperment: Fertilization vs. Frost

Every region welcomes winter at a different time – some states see frost in October, while mercury doesn’t drop until December in other locations. Pinning down a date for fall fertilization is next to impossible.

Instead, consider temperature: 50 to 60 degrees is an ideal window for fall applications, says Jay Winter, fertilizer merchant for LESCO, Cleveland, Ohio. “You want to allow a couple of weeks for the soil to absorb nutrients and break them down for the plant to use and store in a bank – without growing,” he explains. The “bank” holds nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus and feeds it slowly to turf during winter. Nutrient stores toughen turf underneath the surface –body building customers will notice later.

“You are feeding the existing plant as opposed to letting growth occur on top,” Winter says, reiterating the different functions fall applications serve in northern and southern regions. If LCOs were to apply the same fall application in summer, turf would respond with top growth and green-up, he relates.

Winter compares the nutrient storage to eating before bedtime. “In the day, you use calories for energy; at night, food sits there,” he compares. “Similarly, turf doesn’t use that energy to create growth, but to hibernate.”

And as people know, not eating a balanced dinner in the evening results in a growling, hungry stomach when the alarm clock sounds. Spring is turf’s timer, and plants that sleep on an empty stomach wake up deprived and worn out.

“Fall fertilization is a long-term benefit that that customers will notice in three or four months,” Winter concludes. “It is as important as any other application in spring or summer.” – LESCO