About The Process Of Properly Fertilizing A Los Angeles Lawn

Droughts, blistering sun, a million species of invasive pests looking to turn your lawn into a minefield, and keeping your pride and joy lush and green in the City of Angeles, is not a task for the weak of hearted.

Every year, Los Angeles homeowners spend millions of dollars trying to keep their lawns in good shape. Unfortunately, quite a bit of that effort is wasted on attempts to mitigate the damage done by ignoring the most basic needs of the plants populating your lawn.

Besides energy gathered through photosynthesis and water, plants need to gather sustenance from the soil they're living in. And the nutrients they need are finite, used up by generation after generation of the plants growing in front of your home. Without regularly replenishing these nutrients, plants making up the lush green carpet of your lawn start to starve, becoming a bleak, malnourished version of their formerly gorgeous selves.

Let's take a look at what you can do to replenish those lost nutrients with lawn fertilization. We will also look at choosing the right fertilizer and when to apply it. And, if you're not in the mood for dirty hands and sore back resulting from taking care of your lawn by yourself, we'll show you where to find top-notch lawn care in Los Angeles.

Timing Is Crucial On Proper Lawn Fertilizing 

Living in Southern California, we take for granted the gorgeous sunny weather our part of the world is famous for, forgetting that the same weather puts excessive stress on the grass and other plants around our homes. Fertilizing during those already stressful summer months or the rainy winter season is not the best course of action. Applying fertilizer in the midsummer heat will result in most of it drying out and being wasted, offering no nutrition to your lawn.

The best time to fertilize is during the cooler spring and fall seasons when the plants need extra nutrients to grow and are not in the survival mode they use during the summer months.

Address The Weeds In Your Yard First

While we breed the grass on our lawns meticulously so that it has a specific appearance, the weeds in your yard evolve year after year, building up into the scrappiest, nastiest plants on the block.

Weeds will grow with barely any sunlight or with soil that lacks water and nutrition, displacing the grass you're trying to grow in no time. Leaving weeds in your lawn and applying soil amendments will result in weeds taking up more space and taking over the lawn until, eventually, you'll end up with a yard full of dandelions and crabgrass instead of your prized lawn grass.

Choosing The Right Fertilizer For Your Lawn

Quality fertilizer consists of a combination of three nutrients; nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.

• Nitrogen is for healthy leaf growth.
• Phosphorus is great for helping plants mature and develop strong stems.
• Potassium is the key to a good root system and nutrient absorption for the soil.

N-P-K numbers that you'll see on the bag of fertilizer stand for the proportion of nitrogen to phosphorus to potassium you're applying to your plants.

If your lawn is in its early stages, look for fertilizer with more phosphorus and potassium. For an older, healthy lawn, more nitrogen will do the trick. Look for a fertilizer with extra potassium for a stressed-out lawn that needs a hand to get back on its feet.

Call Experienced Lawn Fertilizing Professionals

Figuring out the right amounts and timing for your fertilizer application can get tricky; plus, who's got the time to spend half a day fertilizing, mowing, and weed control? At Aerations Plus, our experienced Los Angeles lawn fertilization service technicians have the tools and the know-how to whip your pride and joy into a lush, green shape in no time. Give us a call today!