A seasonal guide to lawn fertilization. The right product at the right time makes all the difference.
Fertilizing your lawn is not a one-and-done job. Grass needs different nutrients at different times of year, and the timing of each application matters as much as the product you choose.
A well-timed four-step fertilizer program keeps your lawn thick, green, and weed-resistant throughout the growing season. Here is what to apply and when.
Turf Builder Lawn Food (32-0-4)
Wake up the lawn after winter. Promotes early green-up and root development.
Weed & Feed (28-0-3)
Feed the lawn while killing broadleaf weeds. Apply when weeds are actively growing and temps are 60–90°F.
SummerGuard (20-0-8)
Protect against heat stress and lawn-damaging insects. Keep the lawn fed during peak growing season.
Turf Builder Winterguard or Lawn Food
The most important application. Builds deep root strength before winter for a thicker lawn next spring.
Know your lawn size? Calculate exactly how many bags you need →
The four-step program above is the general shape. The exact months shift with the grass you have: warm-season grass is fed while it grows in late spring and summer, cool-season grass in fall and spring, and in the transition zone, where both are planted, the schedule follows whichever one is in the ground. Find your city in the table below this section to see which one applies to the grass most lawns there use.
Bermuda, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Centipede
Warm-season grass grows hardest in late spring and summer and goes dormant after the first cool nights, so it is fed while it is growing and left alone in winter.
Early spring (March)
Pre-emergent herbicide plus light nitrogen
Apply when soil reaches about 55°F. Stops crabgrass before it germinates.
Late spring (May)
Balanced fertilizer (16-4-8)
The lawn is actively growing. This is the most important feeding of the year.
Summer (July)
Slow-release nitrogen
Light feeding only; heat and humidity stress the lawn. Water deeply after applying.
Early fall (September)
Potassium-rich fertilizer
Strengthens roots before winter dormancy and is the last chance for weed control.
Kentucky bluegrass, fescue, perennial ryegrass
Cool-season grass peaks in spring and fall and struggles in summer heat, so the heaviest feedings come in fall, when cool nights and warm soil drive root growth.
Early fall (September)
Balanced fertilizer (20-5-10)
The most important feeding of the year. Cool nights plus warm soil equals peak growth.
Late fall (November)
Winterizer fertilizer
Apply before the first hard freeze to build root reserves for spring green-up.
Early spring (April)
Light nitrogen
Half the fall rate. You want root growth, not a flush of top growth.
Late spring (May)
Slow-release nitrogen plus pre-emergent
The last feeding before summer heat slows the lawn down.
Fescue and Bermuda both grow here; the schedule depends on which you have
The transition zone is warm enough for Bermuda and cold enough for fescue, and neither is fully at home. Check which grass you have, then lean on fall for fescue and late spring for Bermuda.
Early spring (March to April)
Pre-emergent plus light nitrogen
Timing depends on your grass. Warm-season types green up later.
Late spring (May)
Balanced fertilizer (16-4-8)
Both grass types are actively growing now.
Early fall (September)
Heavier fertilizer application
The most important feeding: cool-season grass peaks and warm-season grass stores energy.
Late fall (November)
Winterizer fertilizer
The final feeding before the first frost builds root strength for winter.
Each row gives the city's hardiness zone, the grass most lawns there are planted with, the months when feeding does the most good, and which of the three schedules above to follow. The grass type is the common local choice, not a rule; if your lawn is something else, follow the schedule for what you actually have.
| City | Zone | Common grass | Best months | Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque, NM | 7b | Bermuda / Bluegrass | April–September | Transition zone |
| Atlanta, GA | 8a | Bermuda / Fescue | April–September | Transition zone |
| Austin, TX | 9a | Bermuda / Zoysia | April–September | Warm-season |
| Birmingham, AL | 8a | Bermuda / Zoysia | April–September | Warm-season |
| Boise, ID | 7a | Kentucky Bluegrass | September–October | Cool-season |
| Charleston, SC | 9a | Bermuda / Centipede | April–September | Warm-season |
| Charlotte, NC | 8a | Fescue / Bermuda | March–October | Transition zone |
| Cincinnati, OH | 6b | Kentucky Bluegrass | September–November | Cool-season |
| Colorado Springs, CO | 6a | Kentucky Bluegrass | September–October | Cool-season |
| Columbus, OH | 6b | Kentucky Bluegrass | September–November | Cool-season |
| Dallas, TX | 8b | Bermuda | April–September | Warm-season |
| Denver, CO | 6a | Kentucky Bluegrass | September–October | Cool-season |
| Fort Worth, TX | 8b | Bermuda | April–September | Warm-season |
| Fresno, CA | 9b | Bermuda | April–September | Warm-season |
| Greenville, SC | 8a | Fescue / Bermuda | September–November | Transition zone |
| Hartford, CT | 6b | Kentucky Bluegrass | September–October | Cool-season |
| Houston, TX | 9b | Bermuda | April–September | Warm-season |
| Huntsville, AL | 8a | Bermuda / Fescue | April–September | Transition zone |
| Indianapolis, IN | 6b | Kentucky Bluegrass | September–November | Cool-season |
| Jacksonville, FL | 9b | St. Augustine | March–October | Warm-season |
| Kansas City, MO | 6b | Fescue / Bluegrass | September–November | Cool-season |
| Knoxville, TN | 7b | Fescue | September–November | Cool-season |
| Las Vegas, NV | 9b | Bermuda | April–September | Warm-season |
| Little Rock, AR | 8a | Bermuda / Fescue | April–September | Transition zone |
| Louisville, KY | 7a | Fescue / Bluegrass | September–November | Cool-season |
| Memphis, TN | 8a | Bermuda / Fescue | April–September | Transition zone |
| Miami, FL | 11a | St. Augustine | Year-round | Warm-season |
| Milwaukee, WI | 6a | Kentucky Bluegrass | September–October | Cool-season |
| Minneapolis, MN | 5a | Kentucky Bluegrass | September–October | Cool-season |
| Nashville, TN | 7b | Fescue / Bermuda | September–November | Transition zone |
| New Orleans, LA | 9b | St. Augustine | March–October | Warm-season |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 7b | Bermuda | April–September | Warm-season |
| Orlando, FL | 10a | St. Augustine | March–October | Warm-season |
| Phoenix, AZ | 10a | Bermuda | March–September | Warm-season |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 6b | Kentucky Bluegrass | September–November | Cool-season |
| Portland, OR | 9a | Perennial Ryegrass | September–November | Cool-season |
| Providence, RI | 7a | Kentucky Bluegrass | September–October | Cool-season |
| Raleigh, NC | 8a | Fescue | September–November | Cool-season |
| Richmond, VA | 7b | Fescue | September–November | Cool-season |
| Riverside, CA | 10a | Bermuda / Fescue | April–September | Transition zone |
| Sacramento, CA | 9b | Bermuda / Fescue | April–September | Transition zone |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 7b | Kentucky Bluegrass | September–October | Cool-season |
| San Antonio, TX | 9a | Bermuda | April–September | Warm-season |
| San Diego, CA | 11a | Bermuda | March–October | Warm-season |
| Savannah, GA | 9a | Bermuda / Centipede | April–September | Warm-season |
| Seattle, WA | 9a | Perennial Ryegrass | September–November | Cool-season |
| St. Louis, MO | 7a | Fescue / Bluegrass | September–November | Cool-season |
| Tampa, FL | 10a | St. Augustine | March–October | Warm-season |
| Tucson, AZ | 9b | Bermuda | March–September | Warm-season |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 8b | Fescue / Bermuda | September–November | Transition zone |
City names link to that city's satellite measuring page. Zones are USDA plant hardiness zones; check yours at the USDA map if your address sits between two.
Measure first, buy second. The most common fertilizer mistake is guessing your lawn size. Buying too much wastes money. Buying too little gives poor results. Use LotSite to measure your actual grass area, not your total lot, so you know exactly how much to buy.
Use a broadcast spreader. A broadcast spreader gives the most even coverage for granular fertilizer. Walk at a steady pace and overlap your passes slightly. Avoid hand-throwing, which leads to uneven application and streaky results.
Water within 24 hours. Granular fertilizer needs moisture to dissolve and reach the root zone. If rain is not in the forecast, water your lawn after applying. Do not apply before a heavy downpour, which can wash granules away.
Follow the label rate. More is not better. Applying fertilizer at double the recommended rate does not double the results. It burns the grass. Calibrate your spreader to the product and stick to the specified rate per 1,000 sq ft.
Enter your address and paint your lawn to measure its area, so you buy the right amount of fertilizer.
Then use our fertilizer calculator to get exact bag counts.