You’ve probably heard us talk about how important fertilizer is for your lawn. It provides essential nutrients that your lawn needs to perform its best. But we understand that people often have a lot of questions after a fertilization service is performed.
Some of the most common questions that we get have to do with mowing a lawn after fertilizing.
We understand the concern. People don’t want to do anything that might negatively impact their lawn or the services they’ve had performed. We’ll help set you up for success by answering these important questions.
We’ll cover:
Can You Mow After Fertilizing?
Should I Fertilize Before or After Mowing?
What Else Does My Lawn Need to be Healthy?
Choosing Lawn Care in Cincinnati, Dayton, OH and Northern Kentucky
As always, it is our goal to provide the best lawn care advice and tips we can offer. We take our role in being your lawn care expert seriously.
Can You Mow After Fertilizing?
One of the most frequently asked questions has to do with mowing after fertilization.
Mowing is not going to have any significant impact on your fertilization results. It’s a myth that fertilizer products get “sucked up” by a mower and it’s not going to move around enough to change the distribution of the product.
But there is still a reason why you would wait 24 hours after a lawn care application to mow - and that is because of the weed control products applied. You do want to give the weed control product some time to absorb into the plant before mowing.
Because lawn fertilization and weed control are typically applied at the same time, you’ll most likely want to wait. If you mow the lawn before the weed control product is fully soaked in, you’ll end its effectiveness since they work by being absorbed through the weed tissue and down to the roots.
Should I Fertilize Before or After Mowing?
We’ve already explained why it’s best to wait to mow after a fertilization service (because you want to make sure any weed control products are absorbed). But what about mowing before fertilization?
Generally speaking, most lawn care experts advise mowing a day or two prior to fertilization to give your lawn a chance to recover from the stress of mowing. People don’t always realize that mowing is stressful for the lawn since you’re making “cuts” to the grass blades. This is something that the lawn has to recover from.
You definitely want to make sure that you mow properly. Making mistakes when mowing, like cutting the lawn too short, can be highly detrimental as it’s even more difficult for your lawn to bounce back.
We advise that you mow to a height of 3.5 inches - and there is a good reason for that. The shorter that you mow the lawn, the more shallow the root system becomes. To have healthy turfgrass, you always want to have deeper roots that go further down into the soil.
We also recommend that you mow no more than one third of the grass blade at a time. You want to leave as much of the grass blade as you can for photosynthesizing to take place. This will help you to have a greener lawn.
What Else Does My Lawn Need to be Healthy?
Lawn fertilization and mowing are two critical pieces to the lawn care puzzle. But the best lawns are those that use all of the right lawn care services to produce spectacular results.
In addition to proper mowing and ongoing lawn fertilization, you also want to make sure your lawn receives:
Proper Watering
Lawns need around a half inch of water per sprinkler zone, twice a week.
Aeration and Overseeding
Making sure that your lawn is annually aerated and overseeded will also make a tremendous difference in your lawn care results.
Lawn Pest Control
Lawn pests can wreak havoc on your healthy lawn. You want to make sure that your lawn care program includes proactive treatments addressing pests like chinch bugs and grubs.
Focus on Soil Health
The health of a lawn comes down to its soil. Naturally healthy soil is full of beneficial microorganisms like fungi and bacteria, which help a plant to digest nutrients. These microorganisms also help strengthen your lawn against disease and pests. Healthy, biologically active soil has a highly diverse array of this microscopic life and creates ideal growing conditions for grass.
Choosing Lawn Care in Cincinnati, Dayton, OH and Northern Kentucky
When it comes to getting the most out of lawn care services like lawn fertilization, you’ll want to be sure that you partner with the right professional.
That means choosing a lawn care pro that truly has your best interest at heart. Your lawn should be receiving high-quality fertilization plus bio-stimulants in order to grow the healthiest it can. However, some lawn care companies fail to invest in top-notch products as they want to make more money off their services.
You also want to choose a company that you know will always provide you with advice and tips that set you up for success. When homeowners ask us things like “can I mow and fertilize on the same day”, we’re here to help with guidance such as this very blog and others like it!
By choosing Oasis Turf & Tree to care for your lawn, you know that you are making a wise investment in ensuring your lawn has everything it needs to thrive. That means truly letting go of your worries and gaining peace of mind that your lawn is in good hands.
Want to learn more about professional lawn care services for your Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio, or Northern Kentucky home? Request your quote, choose the lawn care program that’s right for you, and then sit back and relax as the pros help you get the lawn of your dreams!
