Frequently Asked Questions About Fertilizing Your Lawn

First, determine whether you live in the northern or southern half of the country. That's important because the cool-season grasses that grow in the North have different fertilizer needs than the warm-season grasses found in the South.

Next, you'll need to determine if you have other needs, like insect or weed control. Scotts® has products that address multiple issues at once, so identifying your lawn's needs helps you zero in on the right product.

And finally, choosing the right fertilizer depends upon the time of year you are applying it, as grass has different needs during each season. Visit How to Choose Lawn Products and Spreaders for more info and specific lawn food recommendations, or check out the Scotts Lawn Care Program to get recommendations for your lawn.

You'll start to see results anywhere from 1 to 5 days afterward, depending upon the type of fertilizer you use. And because most Scotts® Lawn Food products have Scotts® All-In-One Particles®, they give your lawn an even distribution of nutrients every time you apply it—helping your grass avoid the feast-or-famine, green-to-brown rollercoaster every couple of weeks that you'd experience with poor quality fertilizers.

Simply choose a fertilizer with weed control, sometimes referred to as a weed-and-feed. Scotts® Turf Builder® Weed & Feed, for example, kills over 50 types of weeds (including dandelion and clover) while feeding your lawn. If you live in the North, another option is to use Scotts® Turf Builder® Triple Action, which both kills and prevents weeds while nourishing your grass. In the South, Scotts® Turf Builder® Southern Triple Action is the product to turn to for weeding, feeding and all-important fire ant control. As you can see, there's no need to apply two or three products to cover all of your lawn's needs—and that means less work for you.

It's pretty simple! Just follow these steps: 

1. Water your lawn a few days before fertilizing so your soil is ready to accept the fertilizer.
2. Following the directions on the bag, pour the fertilizer into your spreader and adjust the spreader settings. You can use a hand-held spreader, like the Scotts® Whirl™ Hand-Powered Spreader for a small lawn or a Scotts® Turf Builder® EdgeGuard® DLX Broadcast Spreader for a larger lawn.
3. Apply the fertilizer beginning with the perimeter of your lawn, then move inward toward the center, walking in your typical mowing pattern. Use straight, slightly overlapping lines to ensure good coverage.
4. Return any unused product to the bag and store it properly (again, check the bag for instructions).

Ideally, you should mow and rake before fertilizing so that excess lawn waste is removed and the fertilizer will have an easier time reaching the soil. Aerating your soil before fertilizing can also help; the best times to aerate are when your grass is actively growing, such as in spring or early fall. For more information, check out How to Aerate & Dethatch Your Lawn.

You'll definitely want to check the weather before you plan to apply fertilizer—if rain is in the forecast, you'll want to wait for another day. Rainfall before you fertilize won't ruin your plans and in some cases may actually help. A light rain after you apply fertilizer won't hurt either, but a downpour could wash the fertilizer away.

This depends upon whether you have cool-season grass or warm-season grass. The best time to fertilize your lawn is when the grass is actively growing. For cool-season grasses, that's when air temperatures are 60 to 70° F. For warm-season grasses, active growth will usually happen when temperatures are between 75 and 85° F.

If you live in an area where grass goes brown during the summer, you'll want to avoid fertilizing it while it's dormant. As for the deepest winter months, there's no benefit to feeding your lawn at that time of the year in most areas of the country, as the grass is dormant from the cold weather. Keep in mind, too, that you never want to put fertilizer on frozen ground because the grass won't absorb it.

First off, fertilizer won't kill your new grass when you follow the directions. It's best to look for a starter fertilizer with a higher ratio of phosphorus than regular fertilizer. We recommend using Scotts® Turf Builder® Starter® Food for New Grass right after seeding or laying sod. Not only will it help your grass grow 35% quicker and 70% thicker than new lawns that haven't been fed, but you can also use it on all grass types.

On the same topic, don't fertilize before seeding or laying sod. You're just making more work for yourself. If you use a weed and feed to kill weeds before starting a new lawn, you typically need to wait at least a month before seeding or laying sod. Double check your product's label for specific instructions.

Your best bet is to fertilize your newly seeded or overseeded lawn with Scotts® Turf Builder® Starter® Food for New Grass directly after seeding. Then, you need to wait 6 to 8 weeks before fertilizing again. If you get over-eager and think "If a little fertilizer is good, then a lot of fertilizer is better," let us save you from yourself. Over-fertilizing at any time, especially with newly seeded lawns, can actually damage your grass.

A good rule of thumb here is to allow 24 hours after rainfall or irrigation has watered in the fertilizer before letting kids or pets play on the lawn. So, for example, if you fertilize on Thursday and water or have rain on Friday, then you can let everyone release all of their pent-up energy out in the yard on Saturday.

Fertilizer doesn't expire, but we recommend keeping it dry and in an airtight container, and using it up within a year to get the best results. The longer the fertilizer sits unused, the more likely it is to become damp and clumpy, which could make it hard to spread.

Absolutely. Every Scotts® fertilizer carries the Scotts Miracle-Gro No-Quibble Money Back Guarantee™: If for any reason you, the end-user consumer, are not satisfied with the performance of your product, we will happily refund the purchase price. Simply send us evidence of purchase and we will mail you a refund check promptly. We believe in our products and want you to have that same confidence.