The Best Month for Fertilizing Your Lawn in Fall

There's a reason why November is the right time

By
Kelly Burke
Kelly Burke

Kelly Burke is a professional turf manager who is accredited in organic land care and a licensed pesticide applicator.

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Updated on 10/13/22
Reviewed by
Kathleen Miller
Kathleen Miller
Reviewed by Kathleen Miller
Kathleen Miller is a highly-regarded Master Gardener and horticulturist with over 30 years of experience in organic gardening, farming, and landscape design. She founded Gaia's Farm and Gardens, a working sustainable permaculture farm, and writes for Gaia Grows, a local newspaper column.
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Fact checked by
Emily Estep
Emily Estep
Fact checked by Emily Estep

Emily Estep is a plant biologist and journalist who has worked for a variety of online news and media outlets, writing about and editing topics including environmental science and houseplants.

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Tips for fall lawn fertilizing illustration

The Spruce

Project Overview
  • Working Time: 1 - 2 hrs
  • Total Time: 1 - 2 hrs
  • Skill Level: Beginner
  • Estimated Cost: $50

Keep your lawn or garden healthy before it goes into a period of winter dormancy with an application of fertilizer in the late fall. This is the time when cool-season grasses recover from summer stresses. And turfgrass can begin to store carbohydrate reserves in the stems, rhizomes, and stolons. These carbohydrate reserves help grass resist winter injury and disease, and they serve as an energy source for growth the following spring.

Late-fall fertilization will also provide:

  • Better winter color
  • Enhanced spring green-up
  • Increased rooting
  • Replenished soil in depleted garden beds

Tip

The exact timing for when you should fertilize your lawn in the fall varies based on weather conditions and climate zone. In most regions, October is not too late for fall fertilizer, and you can even put fall fertilizer down in November in many places.

When to Fertilize

Plan to put down your fall fertilizer when the grass has stopped growing or has slowed down to the point of not needing to be mowed. If fertilizer is applied too early while grass or garden plants are vigorously growing, it can invite winter injury and snow mold the following spring.

However, don't wait until the ground freezes, and don't apply fertilizer over snow or ice. On the flip side, it is best to fertilize a lawn right before rain. The rainfall will help to water in the fertilizer, allowing it to sink into the soil. Just make sure the rain forecast doesn't call for a heavy downpour, as that can wash away the fertilizer.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Fertilizer applicator (optional)

Materials

  • Fertilizer

Instructions

Overhead view of materials needed to fertilize a lawn

The Spruce / Jayme Burrows

  1. Choose the Right Mixture

    A complete fertilizer with a high ratio of both nitrogen and potassium is essential for enhanced rooting, cold hardiness, disease resistance, and wear tolerance. An ideal fall fertilizer blend has a nitrogen to phosphorus to potassium (N:P:K) ratio of 24-4-12 with isobutylidene diurea (IBDU).

    In this formulation, a small amount of nitrogen is immediately available to the plant. The rest is in slow-release form, allowing it to break down and provide an extended feeding to the grass. Be wary of applying a fertilizer with too much phosphorus (P), as the runoff can damage rivers and streams. 

    Deciding on the right fertilizer

    The Spruce / Jayme Burrows

  2. Determine How Much Fertilizer You Need

    Nitrogen is the most important nutrient for a fall fertilizer. A recommended dose for lawns is 1 pound of soluble nitrogen for every 1,000 square feet or 1 1/2 to 2 pounds of slow-release nitrogen for every 1,000 square feet. Also check what the label recommends on your chosen fertilizer.

    Deciding how much fertilizer to use

    The Spruce / Jayme Burrows

  3. Create a Fertilizing Schedule

    It's possible to overfertilize your lawn and garden. Too much fertilizer can cause fertilizer burn (which appears like leaf scorch), impede water uptake by the roots, and lead to excessive but unhealthy growth.

    One mid to late summer feeding of a lawn, followed by a light fall feeding, can produce a better lawn than the old recommendation for three or four major feedings for each growing season. In addition, mulching lawn clippings rather than bagging them can be a natural source of nutrients for your lawn, allowing you to reduce fertilizer application.

    Flower and vegetable gardens similarly can thrive with fewer fertilizer applications than once believed, especially if they are properly amended with compost and other organic materials. Most gardens do well with one feeding shortly after planting and one as the growing season concludes. However, plants that produce large quantities of vegetables or large, plentiful flowers might need more fertilizer. So always check the specific fertilizer requirements for your plant species. 

    Person fertilizing a lawn

    The Spruce / Jayme Burrows

How to Apply Lawn Fertilizer
The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Nutrient Pollution: A Persistent Threat to Waterways. Environmental Health Perspectives.

  2. Too Much Fertilizer Is Not A Good Thing! North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension.