After a long, hot summer, your lawn is likely looking a little stressed. But don’t worry, fall is here, and it’s the perfect time to give your grass the TLC it needs to not only recover, but also prepare for a healthy and lush spring. While many people think of spring as the time for fertilizing, a well-timed fall lawn fertilizer application is arguably the most important feeding of the entire year.
During the fall, as temperatures begin to cool, Texas lawns undergo a critical transition. Warm-season grasses like Bermuda, St. Augustine, and Zoysia are preparing to go dormant, while cool-season grasses such as fescue are busy strengthening their root systems and storing energy. A fall fertilizer application provides the key nutrients your lawn needs for this crucial process. This deep root growth and energy storage are vital for:
Improved Winter Hardiness: A strong lawn is better equipped to resist winter stress, cold snaps, and disease.
Faster Spring Green-up: The stored energy acts as a reserve, allowing your grass to recover quickly from dormancy and green up vigorously as soon as warmer temperatures return.
Enhanced Resilience: Deeper, more robust roots make your lawn more resilient to future heat and drought.
Choosing the Right Fall Fertilizer
When you’re at the garden center, you’ll see a variety of fertilizers with different N-P-K ratios on the bags. These numbers represent the percentage of Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), andPotassium (K).
Nitrogen (N): Promotes green, leafy growth. For fall, a slow-release nitrogen source is ideal, as it provides a steady, long-lasting supply of nutrients.
Phosphorus (P): Critical for healthy root development.
Potassium (K): Helps the plant tolerate stress from cold, drought, and disease.
Many fall fertilizers are labeled as “winterizers” and often have a high potassium content. However, a soil test is the best way to pinpoint your lawn’s specific needs.
Timing is Everything: Fertilization and Pre-Emergent
Applying your fall fertilizer and any pre-emergent herbicides at the right time is crucial for success.
Fertilizer Application: For cool-season grasses, a two-step approach is often recommended. Apply the first round in early fall (September) to help your lawn recover from summer stress. The second application, or dormant feeding, should be done in late fall (October or November), right before the ground freezes.
Pre-Emergent Herbicide: Weeds like crabgrass and annual bluegrass germinate in the fall. A pre-emergent herbicide creates a protective barrier in the soil that prevents these weed seeds from sprouting. The most effective time to apply it is when soil temperatures consistently drop to around 70°F. This usually happens in late August to early October, but you can find local soil temperature maps online to be precise.
Important Note: Do not apply a pre-emergent herbicide if you plan to overseed, as it will prevent your new grass seeds from germinating.
Other Fall Lawn Care Tips
Aerate: Fall is the best time to aerate cool-season lawns. Aeration loosens compacted soil, allowing air, water, and nutrients to reach the roots more effectively. Always aerate before you fertilize or apply pre-emergent.
Overseed: If your lawn is thin or has bare patches, fall is the ideal time to overseed if you have Bermuda grass. The cooler temperatures and increased rainfall provide the perfect conditions for new grass to establish before winter. Important note: Remember to use PURE Bermuda seed and NOT a hybrid mix.
Mow Until It Stops: Continue mowing at your normal height until the grass stops growing, usually when temperatures are consistently below 50°F. At GreenGate, we recommend at least a biweekly mow service year round to keep the lawn tidy and free of leaves and other debris that the fall time brings!
Manage Leaves: Rake or mulch fallen leaves. A light layer of mulched leaves can add organic matter to the soil, but a thick layer can suffocate the grass and promote disease.
Ready to Let the Pros Handle It?
If the idea of soil testing, precise application timing, and choosing the right products feels overwhelming, let the experts take the guesswork out of it.
Greengate Turf and Pest’s 8-Step Fertilization Program is designed to give you a lush, healthy, and weed-free lawn all year long. Our licensed technicians create a customized plan based on a complimentary soil analysis, ensuring your lawn gets exactly what it needs. With strategically timed applications that include pre- and post-emergent weed control, they handle the work while you enjoy a beautiful lawn.
