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Lawns: Winterizers - Page 2

© Kenneth Joergensen

Just be aware that it is primarly the nitrogen you should be concerned with when making the "Winterizer" application and if you buy a high potassium fertilizer, the nitrogen levels should also be comparably high. An example of a high nitrogen/high potassium fertilizer is 22-3-14. Most modern "winterizers" are based on such formulars (example Miracle Grow, Scott's, Bayers).

Definition of the "Winterizer Application"
As mentioned above, manufacturers call their high potassium lawn fertilizers "Winterizers" because they were typically applied in late fall, preparing for winter. It is ok to use one of these, provided the nitrogen levels are also high (check the 3 numbers).

Below, I will be referring to the last fertilizer application of the year as the "Winterizer" application. Here I am not referring to the product (high potassium fertilizer) but rather about the actual timing of the application. As mentioned above, you can use regular turf fertilizers for these applications.

Unfortunately, there is quite a bit of confusion because people stop fertilizing at different times.

Most lawn care professionals recommend applying fertilizer in late summer or early fall to improve density and promote good root growth following summer. For both warm and cool season lawn, this is a good time to fertilize the lawn. Some refer to this application as the "Winterizer", but since it is applied early I would call it the "Early Fall" fertilizer while the "Winterizer" is only applied in the late fall.

I keep them distinctly seperate because the purpose of the early fall and late fall ("Winterizer") fertilizer applications are very different.

The Purpose of the Winterizer
Grass, like any other plant, grows by a process called photosynthesis. In the green leaves of the plants, water and carbon dioxide are combined into plant energy; carbohydrates. These carbohydrates are used for growth. Grass plants do not consume fertilizer. Fertilizer is used as building blocks to produce plant foodstuffs (carbohydrates) using the sun's energy as a power source.

During the active growing season, plants loose significant stored energy due to water evaporation (transpiration). They also loose energy when mowed because re-growing leaf tissue consumes energy. During the late fall, the cooler air temperatures reduce the rate of transpiration (evaporation of water) and the leaf growth slows (equals less mowing). This means that the loss of energy (carbohydrate) is also slowed.

Even during cool temperatures, as long as the grass plants remain green, they continue to photosynthesize, e.g produce energy.

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