Fall Fertilization
LANDSCAPE AND TURF MAINTENANCE
It's no secret that summer can be tough on lawns. Extreme heat,
pests, drought — all these things can stress turf and negatively
impact both its health and appearance. Now that cooler fall
weather has arrived in most parts of the country, it's the right
time to get your customers' lawns ready for next spring by taking
stock of any damage, and applying the right fertilizer.
Fertilizing turf and plants in the fall can help extend color,
density and growth through the cooler fall months. It can also
help build carbohydrate reserves, enhance winter hardiness,
maintain winter color and promote earlier spring green-up.
According to Eric Miltner, Ph.D., agronomist for Koch Turf &
Ornamental, this is true for both cool-season and warm-season
grasses.
"For cool-season grasses, fall may be the single most important
time to fertilize," Miltner said. "For warm-season grasses,
potassium (K) fertilization helps build cold hardiness; however,
some nitrogen (N) is required to encourage K uptake."
Miltner went on to say that, in many cases, fertilizer can be
applied in conjunction with fall pre-emergent or post-emergent
weed control, and doing so may even improve the performance
of a post-emergent herbicide. "It may seem counterintuitive, but
stressed weeds are actually more difficult to control," he explained.
"Healthy weeds tend to take up herbicides more efficiently."
How optimum fertilizer selection and application timing can uncover
new efficiencies for your lawn care business
■ BY LYNETTE VON MINDEN
ALL
PHOTOS
PROVIDED
BY
KOCH
TURF
&
ORNAMENTAL
38 October 2015 Landscape and Irrigation www.landscapeirrigation.com
