It’s not yet time to put your Rockland County, NY or your Bergen County, NJ lawn and landscape to bed for the winter. Indeed, fall is the perfect time to fertilize your property before the cold season arrives.
The goal of late fall fertilization is twofold:
- To encourage your lawn and landscape plants to develop deep root systems before winter
- To encourage your lawn and landscape plants to be able to absorb nutrients at the cellular level for winter survival. Again, this helps your property’s turf, perennials, trees and shrubs to store enough food to last through the cold New York and northern New Jersey winter.
Here are eight ways that we apply late fall fertilization to your Bergen County, NJ or Rockland County, NY property:
- If you haven’t had a soil test done on your property, we’ll take soil samples to be tested. A soil test helps us know what nutrients are missing in your soil. It also tells us what your soil’s pH level is. All of this information allows us to formulate the right type of fertilizer for your property.
- If we find that your lawn is too compacted, we’ll suggest aeration. Aeration mechanically loosens soil to allow water, air and nutrients to reach your grass roots faster and easier. We may also suggest applying gypsum to do the same thing as aeration only organically.
- We use slow release fertilizer because we want it to absorb deeply into the soil to reach the plants’ root systems.
- We’ll apply lime if your soil test indicates that it’s too acidic. Lime will move your soil closer to the 6.5 – 7.0 pH level that sustains turfgrass.
- We mix our fertilizer with the right amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium—the three macro-nutrients that all plants need to live healthy and long—for your property’s fall feeding. We apply your fall fertilizer from late October through late November to help your lawn and landscape plants develop deep root systems before winter sets in.
- Don’t forget that your trees and shrubs need fertilizer too. They’ll need less fertilizer if you’ve regularly fed your lawn from March through September. However, your trees and shrubs may need a boost of fertilizer to get them through the winter. We provide deep root injections for the fertilizer to go straight into the root system.
- Late fall is the perfect time to fertilize your lawn if this is the only time of year that you want your lawn fertilized. Additionally, if you only fertilize your lawn once a year, it’s imperative that the soil around your trees and shrubs get tested to see what nutrients they’re missing.
- Don’t forget to apply fall mulch. Mulch also provides nitrogen to your soil as it breaks down. Additionally, it helps to protect trees, shrubs, and bedding plants’ roots from heaving in late winter as well as helps regulate your soil’s temperature throughout winter.
- When we’re done fertilizing your property, we’ll give you instructions on irrigation. It’s imperative that you water your lawn and landscape so the fertilizer can absorb into the soil to activate it.
Do you want your lawn, trees, shrubs, and bedding plants to survive and thrive during the winter? Then protect your investment with a late fall fertilization. Right now, we’re taking appointments for late October through late November. Call us today at (845) 708-2988 or fill out our contact form.
Sources:
National Association of Landscape Professionals. “Tips from the Pros: Lawn and Landscape.”
This Old House.com. “Essential Tips for Fall Fertilizing.”