If you are a property owner in Iowa, fertilizing your lawn regularly is one of the most important things you can do to promote a healthy and beautiful lawn. However, if you try to fertilize your lawn yourself, you could end up making some mistakes, which could result in the treatments being ineffective, or worse, you could end up damaging your lawn. If you try to fertilize your lawn yourself, you might end up applying too much at once, resulting in fertilizer burn. Another very common mistake is using the wrong type of fertilizer at the wrong time, which results in the fertilizer not providing its intended benefits to your lawn. You could also forget to combine the fertilizer treatment with a weed control treatment, and you'll end up supplying nutrients to weeds, as well as your lawn.

1. Applying too much fertilizer at once can cause damage to your lawn.

A damaged lawn caused by over fertilization.

If you decide to fertilize your lawn yourself and apply too much at one time, your lawn could become severely damaged by fertilizer burn. This affects root growth and turns your lawn brown in affected areas. Over-fertilization causes your lawn to become stressed and weakened as well, which results in it being more susceptible to diseases and insect infestations. It is important to apply a balanced amount of fertilizer to avoid burning your lawn and to ensure your grass receives the right amount of nutrients.

2. You could use the wrong type of fertilizer at the wrong time.

A lawn is damaged due to improper timing of fertilization and weed control.

Fertilizing your lawn can be a tricky process because there are different types of fertilizers available and certain types should be used at certain times. Fertilizing your lawn yourself can lead to you using the wrong type of fertilizer at the wrong time of the year, resulting in your lawn not receiving the correct amount of nutrients it needs. Before fertilizing your lawn yourself, there are some things you should keep in mind:

  1. There are different kinds of fertilizers that contain different amounts of nutrients. You'll want to make sure that you are using a fertilizer that contains the right amount of nutrients that your lawn needs at that specific time.
  2. If your lawn is newly established, you would need to use a phosphorus-based fertilizer to promote germination and sprouting of new seeds.
  3. There are fast- and slow-release fertilizer options that are specific to certain seasons and circumstances. The fertilizer won't provide the benefits it should if used at the wrong time.

3. You could forget to combine fertilizer treatments with weed control.

A lawn care expert giving a lawn the correct proportion of fertilizer and weed control.

It is fairly common for those who fertilize their lawn themselves to forget to combine it with weed control treatments. While your fertilizer is providing your lawn with all the important nutrients to grow, it is doing the same for the weeds in your lawn as well. If you don't combine fertilizer treatments with weed control treatments, the weeds in your lawn will grow stronger and faster because they will be stealing these important nutrients from your grass. By combining fertilization treatments with weed control treatments, you can make sure that your grass is receiving all of the nutrients it needs without competition from weeds!

The most common nutrients that fertilizers contain are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Give us a call to schedule our fertilization service.

At A+ Lawn & Landscape, we can ensure that your lawn is receiving all of the nutrients that it needs to thrive throughout the year with our lawn fertilization service. This program includes multiple treatments throughout the year, and our skilled and knowledgeable team knows just how much to use and when to apply it for the best results. What's more, this program also includes weed control treatments, so you won't have to worry about weeds stealing nutrients from your grass. We offer our services to commercial and residential properties in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Ankeny, IA, and surrounding areas. Call (515) 289-2020 to schedule our fertilization service today!