One of the greatest myths when it comes to slow release fertilizer is that the bag price is too high.

In this FAQ, Christina Burton, Maintenance Channel Manager for Horizon, explains how slow release fertilizer is usually less expensive than quick release fertilizer when you take the costs of applying the fertilizer into account.

Video Transcription

So one of the common objections to slow release fertilizer, or one of the greatest myths, is that the bag price is too high. And that’s why folks won’t go that route.

But again, as we talked about here, with the options being to apply this so called “cheap bag”, but having to come back and do it six weeks later. We’ll show through some numbers here that doesn’t actually pan out to be true when comparing it to buying the more “expensive bag” once and not having to come back and do it again.

So example, you might have an all quick release fertilizer. It costs around $18 a bag. So you spend that in Week 1 and then you spend it again in Week 6. So you’ve spent $36 total.

Not to mention the labor that you paid someone to go out and apply it. The time just getting it transported from place to place. All of the kinda added cost. And the extra mowing because it’s growing like crazy during those weeks. So a lot of intangibles in there also.

Whereas with the slow release fertilizer, this bag might cost more like $26, $28. But you’re spending that one time, saving $10 minus all the labor costs in addition to the $36 you’d spend having to do it twice.

The other thing to take into account is how far is the bag of fertilizer that you’re buying going. Typically, not always, but a lot of your quick release fertilizers have less Nitrogen in the bag. And the reason being, if that number is too high and none of it is slow release, that’s a lot of immediate and that’s kinda what they call a “hot fertilizer”.

So the number is typically lower. So you have to put down a lot more to get to 1 pound of Nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. So this bag is only covering 8,000 square feet.

Versus a product with more Nitrogen. 24 versus 16. That bag is going to get you 12,000 square feet. So another 50% more coverage. So you’re actually buying fewer bags as well.

An important trend in professional landscaping is utilizing slow release fertilizer instead of quick release fertilizer.

In this FAQ, Christina Burton, Maintenance Channel Manager for Horizon, explains what slow release fertilizer is and why it can contribute to a more efficient, cost-effective fertilizer program.

Video Transcription

So what does it mean for a fertilizer to be called slow release? It’s a common term these days. Used in a lot of different fertilizers.

What we’re really talking about is the Nitrogen content. Being able to release Nitrogen specifically over time to plants so that there’s less flush growth and more extended growth. So you end up with better plant health, but also it’s more efficient and more cost-effective.  

So you might see on a bag, for example, of say a 24-3-12. So of those 24 units of Nitrogen, 12 of them are still immediately available.

So there is a misconception that slow release means you’re gonna have to wait a long time to see a result. And that’s certainly not true. Particularly if it’s only a percentage that is slow.

So half of that is still going to be available right away. You’ll still see immediate greening. Whereas the other half is being released over time. So extending the amount of time before you have to come back again and fertilize.

So to show what this looks like and where you can really see both the benefits in turf health and in cost-effectiveness.

Kinda the old way with quick release only, would be fertilizing here in Week 1. You get a huge shoot in growth. Mowing like crazy. And it comes down pretty quickly. You’ve got these peaks and valleys of how the turf looks. And you gotta come back and fertilize again about six weeks later. 

Whereas the slow release, and again it varies the time whether we’re talking 10 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks. But again, generally speaking, you can count on at least twice the time of a quick release.

Fertilize in Week 1. A much less steep curve of spike. It’s growing consistently, but not to where you’re mowing a bunch and then it tapers off. And you’re not having to fertilize until about 12 weeks later.

Fertilizing a mixed lawn can be challenging because the grasses may end up fighting for nutrients if you mistime your fertilizer applications.

In this FAQ, Christina Burton, Maintenance Channel Manager for Horizon, explains how to time the applications of fertilizer so that the lawn is healthy year round.

Video Transcription

The second instance where you might be dealing with both warm season grasses and cool season grasses on one property would be in the instance of mixed lawns. So meaning, you’ve got both a warm season grass like Kikuyu fighting along with Tall Fescue in the same lawn.

And you really can’t get it to be one type of turf. So you just face the facts that you’ve got both. This would be very common in a lot of Coastal Southern California, even getting further north.

So what’s the answer?

Because again, you’ve essentially got cool season turf growing in there that is very strong in the spring and fall mixed in there with warm season grasses that by the time they’re coming to fall and winter, they are looking dormant. So you get these patches of off color turf.

So the best way to really manage that fertilization program is somewhat even it out. So even though we say true cool season is mainly spring and fall. That might stretch to an application that’s more late spring/early summer. Another one late summer/fall.

You’re really just evening that program out a little bit. Making it less dramatic on either end of it.

In true overseeding markets like Arizona, Florida, and Southern California, a challenge many professionals face is properly fertilizing properties that are growing both cool and warm season grasses.

In this FAQ, Christina Burton, Maintenance Channel Manager for Horizon, explains how to time fertilization so that both annual transition periods are successful.

Video Transcription

So there are a couple of instances where you might be faced with a property that’s growing both cool season and warm season grasses.

First would be in true overseeding markets. Winter overseeding markets such as Arizona, Florida, parts of Southern California where, again, we talked about warm season grasses such as Bermuda going completely dormant in the winter and what we do to maintain color is overseed with something like Perennial Ryegrass. That we purposely mean to only be there for the winter and die out in the spring.

The challenge with this is getting the timing right in fertilization to have both transition periods be the most successful.

So if you think about the time of overseeding in the fall. We’ve gotta get Ryegrass down in early fall and the last thing you want is Bermuda grass that’s growing very well still and fighting with this Ryegrass you’re trying to grow. So on that taper down period of the Bermuda, this is a period you’ll want to avoid fertilizing. Let that really die down so that your Ryegrass can come in with success.

Then once the spring comes around, likewise, it’s very hard for the Bermuda to start waking up on its upswing if you’ve got Ryegrass that is still really actively growing. So the idea would be during this period, you want the Ryegrass to slow down and, again, you would avoid fertilizing in that late spring window.

So I think it’s important to note that fertilization and proper timing isn’t just about the right times to fertilize, but also the right times to avoid fertilizing.

To achieve optimum turf health, it's important to apply fertilizer at the proper times.

In this FAQ, Christina Burton, Maintenance Channel Manager for Horizon, describes when to fertilize warm season grasses like Bermuda, St. Augustine, and Zoysia grass.

Video Transcription

So warm season turf, as we talked about, includes species such as Bermuda grass, Zoysia grass, St. Augustine grass. These are grasses that are usually growing in the very southern parts of the U.S.. Think Florida, Arizona, southern parts of Texas, southern parts of California.

These are grasses that are growing actively in the spring and through the summer and in most cases are going completely dormant in the winter if they’re not overseeded. So meaning they’re off color. And again, overseeding will come in another session, but the only way to keep a green lawn in the winter then is to put different type of turf over it.

So the primary reason it’s important to stick with fertilizing in the spring and kinda through the summer, tapering off in fall on warm season turf is that at this point in the fall, Bermuda or other warm season grasses are wanting to harden off in preparation of the winter. These grasses are not meant to be awake, so to speak, in the wintertime for those cold temperatures.

So if we keep fertilizing and those tissues are really soft and tender, the first cold snap that comes through can really kill off some of that grass and by the time you get to spring, you really have a weakened stand.

To achieve optimum turf health, it's important to apply fertilizer at the proper times.

In this FAQ, Christina Burton, Maintenance Channel Manager for Horizon, describes when to fertilize cool season grasses like Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass, Tall Fescue and Bent Grass.

Video Transcription

So as we talked about, cool season grasses include those such as Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass, Bent Grass, Tall Fescue. They are the grasses that, generally speaking, are most actively growing in the spring and in the fall.

In true seasonal climates, particularly those that receive snow (The Midwest, the mountains). Those grasses are actually going to go dormant during the winter. In a lot of coastal, more temperate regions, where these grasses might grow. They still are growing although typically a lot slower in the winter than in the spring and in the fall.

You might ask why it’s a bad idea to fertilize in the summer versus keeping it more concentrated more towards these spring and fall windows. And the reason is in the summer, particularly when you’re going through a hot spell, those grasses are really kinda stressed out. They’re trying to slow down. They’re trying to conserve energy and they do this through their root system.

So when you fertilize, particular heavy or with a quick release, you’re having that plant expend a lot of energy creating top growth and they can only do that at the expense of the root system. So you end up with a weakened stand. So that’s why you avoid summer.

And same for winter. In those areas where it’s growing, although not that actively. It’s fine to fertilize then. It’s not really that important to overall turf health. It’s more about esthetics. And often times contractors are sort of forced to fertilize more in winter because the consumer wants to see green turf.

Applying fertilizer at the proper times is critical to turf health. Two important factors to look at are the type of turf you have and the growth pattern of that turf.

In this FAQ, Christina Burton, Horizon's Maintenance Channel Manager, describes the growth pattern and the ideal fertilization schedule for:

   1. Cool season grasses (Perennial Ryegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, and Tall Fescue)
   2. Warm season grasses (Bermuda, St. Augustine, and Zoysia Grass).

Video Transcription

In order to build an efficient fertilizer program, we have to take into account 3 major factors:

1. What region do you live in or where you're maintaining this turf?

2. What type of turf do you have? There are different types that grow differently throughout the season. And that's the 3rd thing you really have to account for.

3. Growth patterns of turf. So that we're really fertilizing at the proper times and not just reacting to "looks like it needs fertilizer right now."

There are certain times of the year that the turf is really going to benefit the most.

So getting the growth pattern of turf, basically there are two types of turfgrass, broadly speaking. One are cool season grasses. Think of Perennial Ryegrass or Kentucky Bluegrass. Tall Fescue. Those are probably common types that you’ve heard of.

Those are grasses that are primarily growing well in the spring and in the fall. They kind of get a little tired in the summer. They aren’t growing very actively. So generally speaking, the best times to fertilize these grasses are in the spring or in the fall.

Whereas warm season grasses (Bermuda grass, Zoysia grass, St. Augustine), you think of warm places like Florida or Arizona, southern parts of California, Texas.

These are grasses that go dormant in the wintertime oftentimes, so if you see grass that in the winter is yellowed out and they’re primarily growing in the spring to summer.

So it’s that spring to summer window that is the best time to fertilize warm season grass.

The best way to fertilize will depend on what it is that you're planning to fertilize and what is in the fertilizer.

In this FAQ, Christina Burton, Horizon's Maintenance Channel Manager, discusses the role of NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium) and common NPK ratios that make choosing the right type of fertilizer much easier.

Video Transcription

So to answer the question, “What is the best way to fertilize?”, we really have to address two things:

   1. What's in the fertilizer?

   2. What is it that we're planning to fertilize?

Starting with “What’s in the fertilizer?”, it’s important to note that any bag of fertilizer that we look at has 3 numbers on it. And those three numbers represent Nitrogren, Phosphorus, and Potassium in that order. It’s always in that order. Those 3.

Nitrogen is responsible mainly for the greening and the overall shoot growth of the plant, whether that’s turf or ornamental plants.

Phosphorus is responsible for the establishment of the plants, whether that be new seed or new sod. In landscape ornamentals, it’s also responsible for blooming.

Potassium is important for the overall cell strength of the plant.

So turfgrass fertilizers, as a general rule, are in a rough ratio of about a 3:1:2. So meaning there’s about 3 times as much Nitrogen as Phosphorus, and about 2 times as much Potassium as Phosphorus.

Now, it’s always important to start with a soil test to really know what your turfgrass needs, but again this would be a very common ratio and it’s really important to note that it’s about the ratio and not necessarily the actual numbers on the bag.

For example, you might see a fertilizer that’s a 24-3-12. You might see one that’s a 24-5-11. But roughly speaking, those are about in that 3:1:2 ratio. A very common fertilizer for turf.

If we were starting a new lawn though or starting sod, again that Phosphorus, that middle number becomes really important. Those seedlings can’t reach the available Phosphorus in the soil.

So that’s where you might see something like a 6-20-10. And again, maybe it’s more 6-20-20. It’s not so much about the exact numbers, but just recognizing that when you see this center number being very high in comparison to the other two, that is mostly likely meant for starting a new lawn or new sod.

Landscape ornamentals on the other hand typically are more balanced. So their ratio would be often times a 1:1:1. Equal parts Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium. So again, very common to see products like a triple 15 (15-15-15), a triple 9 (9-9-9). And so while those numbers might be slightly different, the ratio is the same. That fertilizer contains equal parts of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium.

And so that’s where, and we’ll talk in more detail later, we gotta know not just what these numbers are, but what’s the makeup of each of those. What type of Nitrogen for example? Or do these contain other things like Iron or Manganese or other nutrients in addition to these three that the plants might need.