Be kind to people, but tough on your lawn. Coddling and nurturing it will bring no heavenly reward and will likely just lead to unruly turf. The best method for improving the looks of lawn in the spring is applying a good fertilizer in late fall, says Jerry Goodspeed, Utah State University Extension horticulturalist. However, fertilizer applied in early April also helps the greening process and gets the lawn off to a good start. The best type of fertilizer to apply is one high in nitrogen, which is the first number on a bag of fertilizer, Goodspeed explains.
Most lawns only require nitrogen to green up.
Phosphorus and potassium, the other two numbers after the nitrogen, are for root growth and the health of the plants. These only need to be applied once or twice a year and usually in limited amounts. Over time, most soils settle and become compacted. This reduces the ability of water to penetrate and take nutrients into the root zone. It also reduces the amount of oxygen in the root zone of the plants, which can stunt root growth and health.