Despite popular belief, a green thumb is not essential to maintaining a lush and healthy commercial lawn. In fact, the secret to success lies within two guiding principles: fertilization and weed control.
However, with all the landscaping information circulating online, it can feel overwhelming to identify which techniques are legitimate and which ones are ineffective.
Take out the guesswork and find out the top 3 tips for proper fertilization and weed control.
1. Correct Kind of Fertilizer
Lawns are living entities and need proper nutrition. Before fertilizing your lawn, it is necessary to treat any weeds present. Otherwise, you risk siphoning resources away from your grass and straight to pesky weeds.
This is where a weed control schedule comes into play.
Apply a safe herbicide with low toxicity, such as glyphosate, prior to fertilizing. Be mindful of potential runoff.
When selecting lawn fertilizer, you’ll be looking for three ingredients printed on the label that are responsible for efficiently nurturing your commercial lawn: nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium.
The best ratio is 20-5-10, which respectively translates to 20% nitrogen, 5% phosphate, and 10% potassium.
Spray fertilizer is often used by professional commercial landscaping services. It requires more expertise to ensure even application across the entire site and to account for drift. Spray also allows for quicker application time in comparison to pellets.
Pellets are also a good option, so long as spreaders are available to use in the process.
If you’re looking to stretch the time between fertilizing services, a slow-release lawn fertilizer is an excellent option. These types of fertilizers allow lawns to extend their nutrient breakdown over a longer time frame, so you can wait longer between applications, usually 6-8 weeks.
2. Correct Amount of Fertilizer
Your lawn will flourish given the correct amount of fertilizer. If too much fertilizer is applied at once, you risk your grass growing too fast and out of control. If you don’t apply enough, your grass won’t get all the nutrition it needs. In addition, you may end up wasting money.
Many people may not know how to apply fertilizer to a lawn. The best way to ensure the right amount of fertilizer is being applied is to consult with a reputable company who specialize in landscaping commercial sites. They have the resources and training necessary to service and maintain large areas of grass that smaller-scale operations just can’t compete with.
3. Correct Time of Year
Knowing the correct kind and amount of fertilizer means you’re on your way to greener lawns. The last piece in the puzzle is knowing when to fertilize.
The correct time of year to fertilize your commercial lawn is spring, specifically when your soil temperature hits 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Across the country, this usually happens in mid to late April.
You can measure this with a soil thermometer or when the lilacs begin to bloom.
Consider Diaz Group for Your Fertilization and Weed Control Services
Fertilization and weed control is essential to managing the appearance and value of your commercial property. Customers will appreciate spending time on a well-maintained lawn. Given the right professionals, this is an easily attainable goal.
Contact the Diaz Group to learn more about our landscape maintenance services.
