When to feed my lawn

Our lawns are a labour of love, and in order to keep them healthy, thick, and well maintained year-round, they will require some attention and care. Fertilising your lawn is one of the best ways that you can maintain that Wimbledon worthy lawn from spring right through to winter.

If you are new to fertilising your lawn, you should follow our fertiliser guide, which will help you to better understand what fertiliser is.

When should you feed your lawn?

We would recommend feeding your lawn twice a year. The best time to apply fertiliser is when your grass is actively growing. The best time of the year to fertilise your lawn is from March – to October when temperatures have started to increase, and your grass is actively growing. If you’re interested in finding out more about the best times of the year to use fertiliser, our blog on when to start applying fertiliser in the UK should help. Between the months of November and February, your lawn is considered to be in a state of dormancy. This means that it grows extremely slowly, if at all.

Fertilising your lawn in spring will help to refresh and revitalise your lawn after the winter season and boost the level of nutrients within your soil. An autumn feed will help to give your lawn a long-lasting feed for the winter months ahead, this will ensure that your lawn is prepared for the challenges that the winter weather may bring.

Just like our grass seed mixtures, each and every one of our fertilisers are different from one another. While this can sometimes make it a little difficult to choose the one you need, it does ensure that every time you use a fertiliser, you are using one that is specific to that time of year and will give your lawn a tailored feed that is most beneficial.

To help you understand when to feed your lawn with our range of fertilisers, we are going to break them down into seasonal products.

Pre-Seed Feeding

If you are planning to sow a new lawn from scratch, you should consider using our QUICK RELEASE: Pre-Seed fertiliser. It is designed to give your new seedlings the best possible foundation for growth while ensuring that any new grass that grows is strong and healthy. Aside from providing a much-needed boost of nutrients, it will also help to accelerate the speed of growth, meaning that your lawn should grow thick and fast and leave you with a beautiful green lawn, sooner rather than later. For best results with this fertiliser, you should spread it at our recommended rate of 70g per m2 using a spreader or by hand (remember not you must cover your hand with a protective glove). Like all our domestic fertilisers, this is a granular product so you should water this in completely before beginning to sow your new lawn.

Spring / Summer feeding

When the temperatures pick up during spring and summer, so will the activity and use on your lawn. Ensuring that your lawn is ready for wear and tear in the months ahead, will help you to ensure that your grass remains thick, healthy, and green. Our spring/summer fertilisers differ from our autumn /winter fertilisers in that they contain a higher level of nitrogen in their NPK breakdown. The higher levels of nitrogen in our spring/summer fertilisers are crucial for feeding at this time of year. Nitrogen will help accelerate the speed of growth in your grass, meaning that the grass blades will be quicker to sprout through the soil's surface to, which will allow the grass to generate energy for more root growth and improved disease prevention.

There are two types of fertilisers to choose from, either our QUICK RELEASE: Spring/Summer fertiliser or our SLOW RELEASE: Spring/ Summer fertiliser.

QUICK RELEASE: Autumn/Winter

Works over a period of 12-16 weeks
Strengthens and thickens up your grass
Provides a long-lasting feed of nutrients to sustain your grass all summer long

QUICK RELEASE: Spring/ Summer

Works over 6 weeks
Promotes instant greenness and immediate health
Quickly works to revitalise your lawn in a short period of time

While both of these spring/summer fertilisers will help to improve the health and appearance of your lawn, we always recommend going for a slow releasing fertiliser if you are on time with applications. A slow-releasing fertiliser is better for your lawn as it works over an extended period of time to give your lawn a steadier, longer feed.

Autumn / Winter Feeding

While spring/ summer fertilisers will focus on quick growth and greenness, our autumn/winter fertilisers will focus on improving the strength and health of your grassroots. During the winter months, the climate is much more challenging, and while your lawn will typically get less use in the winter, it definitely faces a few more challenges from mother nature. Colder temperatures, ice, frost, and snow are all contributing factors to your lawn’s challenges over winter.

Our autumn/winter fertilisers are higher in potassium, phosphates and magnesium, these ingredients will help to strengthen the roots and stiffen the leaf blades, which will help to protect that grass against severe weather conditions.

For autumn/winter feeding, we have our SLOW RELEASE: Autumn/Winter fertiliser or our QUICK: RELEASE: Autumn/ Winter fertiliser to choose from.

SLOW RELEASE: Autumn/Winter

Works over a 6-week period
High potassium and magnesium levels
Strengthens grassroots and leaves to provide winter protection

QUICK RELEASE: Autumn/Winter

Works over a 16-week period
High in potassium and phosphates, low in nitrogen
Stiffens leaf blades and strengthens roots to protect against diseases and frost.

Top Tip – Always makes sure to choose a seasonal fertiliser, never use a spring/summer feed during winter and vice versa. This could cause your lawn more harm than good.

Organic Feeding

If you are interested in an organic approach, we have fertiliser to tick that box too. Our REVIVE: Organic 365 fertiliser can be used all year round, unlike our other fertiliser products. Because it is made up of only organic matter, there is a much lower level of nitrogen within it, so it minimises the risks of scorching your grass after application.