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 →
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 to get your exact lawn area — so you buy the right amount of fertilizer.
Then use our fertilizer calculator to get exact bag counts.