There’s no denying the fact a lush green lawn is something you would love to own and show off to your friends and neighbors. Proper lawn care is the key to maintaining a beautiful green lawn. Especially in summer, you’ll need to take extra care so that your grass looks at its finest.
In other words, you should use the best grass fertilizer for summer for your lawn so that you can enjoy the picturesque sight as well as flaunt it to the beholders. In this article, I’ve walked you through some important information and the perfect grass fertilizers to help you maintain a great lawn.
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Best grass fertilizer for summer
Ensuring that you use the best summer fertilizer for grass every year is extremely important to maintaining your lawn through the summer. If you apply the wrong fertilizer to your grass in the summer or warm season of the year, it could backfire. That’s exactly why you should be careful when choosing fertilizer when the weather turns hot. Ending up with a burned-out lawn is the last thing you would probably want!
Grass care during the summer begins with choosing the right fertilizer. Let me help you pick the best grass fertilizer for summer so that you can keep your lawn in good shape.
How to pick the best summer fertilizer for grass?
Well, if you’ve already tried your luck with several fertilizers for your grass in the summer, I’m sure you’ve understood that choosing the right summer fertilizer isn’t that easy. However, I can help you with that. There are different types of grass fertilizers for summer and there are some factors you need to consider when choosing a summer fertilizer for your lawn. Let’s get into the details.
Understanding N-P-K ratios
NPK is an acronym for Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium, the three macronutrients that form the best fertilizer. You should know how to read and understand an NPK fertilizer to begin with. For example, a 16-8-8 fertilizer is composed of 16% Nitrogen, 8% Phosphorous, and 8% Potassium.
As grass typically needs more nitrogen compared to phosphorous and potassium, you should always choose a fertilizer that has a higher nitrogen content, that is, a higher first number.
The other ingredients used in fertilizer consist of various essential micronutrients, including copper, iron, magnesium, calcium, and fillers that facilitate ease of use and quick disbursement of nutrients.
So, this is an important aspect you should consider when buying grass fertilizer for the warm season.
Slow-release fertilizer is perfect for the summer
A slow-release fertilizer is a fertilizer that is coated with sulfur-based polymers or plastic resin intended to slowly break down from the heat, water, sunlight, and/or microbes.
Gardening experts recommend the use of slow-release fertilizers during the summer because these not only stay longer in the soil but also reduce the risk of fertilizer burn.
In addition, slow-release fertilizers are generally formulated to last two to three months based on the amount of water the lawn receives. Also, these are available in organic and synthetic formulas. Overall, slow-release fertilizers are easily one of the best grass fertilizers for the summer.
Lawn fertilizer spray
Liquids act fast and directly send vital nutrients to the roots. If you want to revive your dull-looking lawn pretty quickly, using a fertilizer spray on your lawn is really beneficial. You can do pretty much the same when the temperatures suddenly shoot up during the summer and the lawn starts turning brown.
Let’s take a look at the different varieties of lawn fertilizer sprays and how each one works.
- Water-soluble: Water-soluble fertilizers are ideal for small grassy areas. They are sold in granule or powder form. Formulated with a comparatively lower NPK ratio, water-soluble fertilizers are easy to store and cost-efficient as well. However, if you’ve got a large expanse of grass, this is not the best choice.
- Ready-to-use: These pre-mixed choices, as the name implies, are ready to use. You don’t have to dilute them or prepare them for application. All you need to do is pour the fertilizer into your hose attachment. As they’re extremely convenient to use, these ready-to-use options often come at a somewhat higher price point. However, they’re absolutely worth it.
- Liquid concentrate: The liquid concentrate fertilizer is sold in jugs or bottles. It requires you to mix it with water. Perhaps, using a very small amount of this concentrate gives effective results. It is not only economical but can also be used as a quick-acting soil soak and foliar spray. However, you should never apply a liquid concentrate to your grass without diluting it. It will result in severe root and blade burns.
Chelated iron supplement
If you notice large areas of your lawn turning yellow all of a sudden, an iron deficiency in your soil is the obvious reason. Excessive moisture, dense clay, and oxidized iron in your soil are the culprits for the yellowing of your grass.
For the macronutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, to efficiently do their jobs, your lawn needs iron in an easily absorbed form. Using a chelated iron supplement is a good bet to treat the chronic yellowing of the grass in your lawn in the summer.
Avoid “burning” your lawn
When you select a grass fertilizer for summer, you should ensure that you’ve got the right mix. Decades ago, gardeners primarily used liquid, fast-release, synthetic, and agricultural-grade fertilizers to nourish their lawns. However, it was not a good choice.
Fast-release fertilizers instantly release nutrients into the soil, thereby giving your lawn a quick boost. However, these products happen to provide a lot of nitrogen at one time. So, the soil microbes cannot break it all down. The excess nitrogen will dry out the grass blades, resulting in a burned look on the entire lawn.
If you have cool-season grasses like perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and fine fescue turfgrass in your lawn, the quick-release should not be applied during the summer. It’s because synthetic fertilizers that are not completely watered into the lawn cause stress and most often result in lawn burn.
The list of the best grass fertilizers for summer
1. Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Food
It is the perfect overall grass fertilizer for the summer. Its unique 32-4-0 NPK formula enhances the overall health of your lawn, protecting it from future problems. You can apply it to any type of grass to help it build deep roots.
2. The Andersons PGF Complete
The 16-4-8 grass fertilizer is a complete, professional-grade fertilizer choice for grasses. In fact, it is effective in both high-heat and low-rain environments. The Anderson PGF Complete gives great results in as little as one week.
3. Miracle-Gro lawn food
The high-quality fertilizer, containing high amounts of nitrogen and iron, makes your grass green, soft, and thick. You can effectively feed large lawns using this water-soluble lawn food. The low price of Miracle-Gro Lawn food makes it an amazing choice if you’re on a tight budget.
4. Advanced Lawn food natural liquid fertilizer
This liquid fertilizer is easily one of the best liquid concentrate fertilizers available on the market. If you want a fast-acting and easy-to-use fertilizer for your lawn this summer, this is a good bet. The ingredients are pre-mixed, ready to use, and the bottle has a hose attachment for convenience.
5. EverGreen Complete 4-in-1 Lawn Care
The unique 4-in-1 formula of EverGreen Complete kills weeds, greens the grass, and helps your lawn make the most of all the moisture and water it receives. The fertilizer is formulated to build the strong roots required to protect your grass against excess heat and other stresses in the summer season.
6. Southern Ag chelated liquid
If you’ve noticed that your lawn is turning yellow due to iron deficiency, you need the Southern Ag Chelated Liquid fertilizer to make your grass green again.
7. Milorganite organic nitrogen fertilizer
This is an ideal fertilizer to use if you live in a region with inadequate rainfall. Its slow-release, organic, non-burning formula works well in such regions. It doesn’t contain salts, which could further dry out your grass.
Conclusion
I’m sure you’ve got all the information you need to find the best grass fertilizer for the summer. Let’s do a quick recap of the important points covered in this article:
- Choosing the right summer fertilizer for your lawn is important to make sure you achieve a healthy, lush green lawn.
- You’ll have to consider the N-P-K ratio when buying a grass fertilizer to apply in the warm season.
- Make sure you buy a slow-release formula that provides the necessary nutrients in a sustained manner without burning your grass. You’ll have to avoid quick-release fertilizers that will burn the roots and eventually the grass.
- If your grass blades turn yellow in the summer and you suspect iron deficiency, try chelated iron supplements for your lawn.
- I hope the list of the best grass fertilizers for summer I’ve provided will help you make a smart choice. Consider the size, characteristics, and intensity of summer in your area before buying a summer fertilizer for your lawn.
