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Fertilizers in Autumn for Lawn
Organizing and comprehensive lawn care is not for lazy people. If you truly want a beautiful, neat lawn covered with dense, even green grass, you’ll need to invest considerable effort, work, and knowledge. Lawn maintenance must be done year-round, and although most tasks fall in the spring and summer, you’ll still need to stay active in autumn and winter.
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For three autumn months, lawns should be watered, mowed, and aerated almost as frequently as in summer. Additionally, lawns must be properly prepared for the approaching cold, mulched, and treated with preventive measures to improve turf quality. However, the most important task is applying specialized autumn fertilizers to the soil.
Phosphorus Fertilizers for Autumn
During autumn, lawns need soil enriched with complex mineral fertilizers containing potassium and phosphorus compounds. Phosphorus, potassium, and nitrogen are essential nutrients that support healthy lawn growth and vitality throughout the year. Both single-component and complex mineral fertilizers are recommended for year-round use. However, there are specific rules and restrictions when applying fertilizers in autumn.
For example, phosphorus fertilizers should be applied twice: early in autumn and just before the first frosts. Phosphorus strengthens the root system of lawn grasses, ensuring early spring regrowth and sufficient water and nutrient reserves during summer.
Moreover, applying phosphorus fertilizers in early autumn promotes lateral shoot growth, helping plants form a denser turf layer and survive winter more effectively. Sources of phosphorus for lawns in autumn include special autumn complex fertilizers, superphosphates, and bone meal.
Soil should be enriched with phosphorus only once every few years, as this element tends to remain in the soil for long periods. Excess phosphorus accumulation can negatively affect lawn health.
Potassium Fertilizers for Autumn
Like humans, plants need potassium for normal growth and development. Therefore, potassium-containing fertilizers are beneficial when applied to decorative lawns throughout the growing season, including autumn. Autumn potassium fertilizers not only replenish plant vitality but also enhance resistance to adverse weather, pests, and diseases.
Specialized autumn complex fertilizers and potassium sulfate are used for autumn lawn feeding. Unlike phosphorus, potassium is prone to rapid leaching from soil, so potassium fertilizers should be applied at least once a year. Additionally, in light sandy soils, natural potassium levels are significantly lower than in heavy soils, so the amount of potassium fertilizer must be increased for such lawns.
Caution: Nitrogen!
As for the third essential nutrient—nitrogen—only slow-release nitrogen fertilizers should be used in autumn. Nitrogen promotes rapid grass growth and deep green coloring, but this is unnecessary in autumn.
Overuse of nitrogen fertilizers in autumn may cause lawns to grow excessively, depleting all energy reserves. As a result, there will be little energy left for winter, and the lawn will lose its decorative appeal and beauty in spring.
However, lawns damaged by summer drought can benefit from slow-release nitrogen mineral fertilizers.
Finally, remember that fertilizers must be applied strictly according to lawn care guidelines, not only in autumn. Never exceed recommended application rates for your soil type, distribute fertilizers evenly across the lawn regardless of application method, and avoid using low-quality complex mineral or organic fertilizers from unreliable manufacturers.
