INDIANAPOLIS — As March days get longer and warmer, homeowners start thinking about their lawns.
But all the piles of different varieties and brands of lawn care products and treatments can get confusing.
"Scotts is probably one of the biggest leaders in fertilizer for your home," said Pat Sullivan of Sullivan Hardware and Garden during his weekly segment on 13Sunrise for do-it-yourselfers. "They try and make it simple."
But "simple can also be confusing," Sullivan explained. "They're always trying to combine things because research shows most people will only put one application of something on their lawn."
Sullivan pointed out that Scotts' Four Step program makes it easier for people to keep track of their treatments and not over-treat or apply fertilizer when the growing season does not call for it.
"Sometimes, I think it's too much fertilizer," said Sullivan.
Many applications combine seed with fertilizer and some other agent, like a crabgrass inhibitor.
Other applications provide weed control.
"You've got to be careful about that," Sullivan cautioned. "One of the best ways — one of the easiest ways to prevent weeds — is to let your grass grow a little taller because that will shade out some of the weeds."
Spring and fall approach
Sullivan recommends applying fertilizer and crabgrass control in the spring. "Pretty much any program you have will have that," he said. "You generally don't need any more fertilizer, but you have weeds that pop up."
Rather than applying a broad-based weed killer to the entire lawn, Sullivan recommends using a liquid spray in a squirt bottle to spot-treat weeds when they appear.
"I would add a soil product," Sullivan said, to break up clay and revitalize your soil.
After enjoying your yard through the summer, it's important to fertilize again in September, then November.
Watch Pat boil it all down for you on his 13Sunrise segment in the video player.