Fertilizer is designed to keep your lawn and plants healthy, but too much can cause fertilizer burn, which can cause serious damage.
The best way to avoid fertilizer burn and maintain a thriving lawn or garden is to work with a lawn care specialist.
What Is Fertilizer Burn?
Fertilizer burn occurs when plants are exposed to excessive amounts of fertilizer. It can cause plants to wilt, turn brown, yellow or die altogether. Luckily, with the right fertilizing techniques, you can avoid damaging your plants through fertilizer burn.
Why does fertilizer burn happen? When your lawn is overloaded with fertilizer, the nutrients no longer nourish it. Instead, the fertilizer draws moisture away from your plant’s roots, causing them to stop absorbing water effectively.
When this happens, your lawn experiences symptoms that resemble drought stress. However, what’s really happening is chemical overload.
There are several common signs of fertilizer burn. First, your lawn may begin to wilt despite regular watering. The leaves will turn yellow, especially around the tips and edges.
Next, you may notice areas of your lawn that look scorched or burned. Dry brown spots, especially on the tips of your plants’ leaves or grass blades, are a common sign of fertilizer burn. In severe cases, your grass can die due to fertilizer burn.
Keep in mind that fertilizer burn on your grass can look similar to brown patch fungus, but there are several key differences. For example, brown patch fungus appears as circular areas of sunken grass, while fertilizer burn takes the shape of your fertilizer application.
How to Avoid Fertilizer Burn
The best way to avoid fertilizer burn is to apply your fertilizer correctly. You also need to ensure that you’re using the right type of fertilizer for your specific plants or grass, so that the nutrient levels meet your needs. For example, new grass seedlings require a different type of fertilizer than mature grass.
Working with a lawn care professional is the best way to ensure that your plants and grass receive proper fertilization and avoid fertilizer burn. An expert will use the correct type and amount of fertilizer and apply it properly to prevent overloading your plants with chemicals.
For the best-looking lawn, contact a local lawn specialist to get started.
What Does Fertilizer Burn Look Like?
Along with wilting and discolored leaves, there are other symptoms of fertilizer burn that homeowners should be aware of so they can catch the problem early.
For example, a telltale sign of overfertilization is a white crust on the soil’s surface. This is due to salt buildup from chemical overload, and it appears as a white, chalky layer on top of your soil. Spotting this layer is a likely indication that your soil is too salty, which means your plant’s roots are having difficulty absorbing water.
A common sign of fertilizer burn is brown leaf tips and edges that become crispy and dry. It’s helpful to note that this symptom occurs most often on house plants or in vegetable gardens as a result of using too much liquid or granular fertilizer.
Overfertilized grass will also experience discoloration. Fertilizer burn will appear as strips of yellow or brown grass in the areas where the fertilizer was applied too heavily. When fertilizer is spread unevenly, it can create an uneven grass color, and the fertilizer burn appears in stripes across your lawn.
Fertilizer burn can also stunt the growth of plants and grass. If your plants stop thriving soon after fertilization, too much fertilizer is likely the culprit. A common symptom is that your plants begin to wilt, even while the soil is still damp. This occurs because the roots are too damaged to absorb the water.
To avoid fertilizer burn, homeowners should learn how to spread fertilizer correctly. Another option is to work with a lawn care specialist who can get the job done for you so that you don’t have to worry about fertilizer burn.
Fertilizer Burn Versus Drought Stress
It’s easy to confuse fertilizer burn with symptoms of drought stress, as both problems present the same way. However, there is a subtle difference that will help you identify which issue you’re dealing with on your property.
Drought stress impacts your entire lawn, garden and plants, whereas fertilizer burn only impacts the areas that were overfertilized. With drought stress, your entire lawn will turn yellow and dry out. With fertilizer burn, the damage will appear in patches or stripes rather than the entire lawn.
Another helpful distinction is that drought stress occurs when plants don’t have sufficient water. Fertilizer burn can appear even when your plants or grass are receiving plenty of water.
Fertilizer Burn Versus Brown Patch
Brown patch is a fungal disease that creates circular, brown patches across your lawn. It often appears as a “smoke ring,” and the texture of your grass can become slimy in humidity.
Fertilizer burn, on the other hand, often appears in straight lines where the fertilizer was applied. It looks streaky rather than circular, and the grass does not become slimy.
How Long Does Fertilizer Burn Take to Show?
Unfortunately, there is no single answer for how long it takes for fertilizer burn to show, since it can vary depending on the type of fertilizer used.
For example, fast-release fertilizers can cause burn symptoms that appear within a few days. This type of fertilizer is also known as quick-release or water-soluble fertilizer. It is known for giving your plants a quick and efficient boost in nutrients.
Fast-release fertilizer is easy to overapply, increasing the risk of fertilizer burn. Within a few days, you may notice that your plants’ leaves are turning brown or yellow, and they may begin to wilt. A layer of white crust from salt buildup may gather on the surface of your plant’s soil.
Slow-release fertilizers create a more delayed reaction to fertilizer burn. As its name suggests, this type of fertilizer is designed to deliver nutrients gradually over time. Since they develop more slowly, it can take a few weeks to notice the symptoms of fertilizer burn.
Homeowners should monitor their plants after applying slow-release fertilizer to look out for subtle changes. These may look like the gradual curling or yellowing of leaves.
Can Grass Recover From Fertilizer Burn?
Fertilizer burn is a frustrating problem because the very product intended to help your lawn thrive is now harming it. Luckily, when fertilizer burn is caught early, your grass should be able to recover.
The sooner you notice the signs of fertilizer burn, the better chance you have of reversing the damage and saving your lawn. Even if the signs are subtle, it’s important to act quickly. Do not wait and let the fertilizer burn symptoms get worse.
The first step to recover your lawn from fertilizer burn is to flush out the excess fertilizer before it reaches your roots. Slowly soaking the impacted area with water will help dissolve the fertilizer and flush it away from your grass’s root system.
It’s recommended to soak your lawn daily for about a week to remove excess fertilizer. Use a sprinkler or hose on a low setting so that the water can penetrate the roots rather than run off.
After that, watch for signs of improvement over the next few weeks. If the lawn is recovering, you will see new grass shoots and a reduction in brown spots.
Do not fertilize your lawn again until your grass has fully recovered. When you fertilize again, be sure to read the instructions carefully and understand the correct amount of fertilizer to apply to your lawn. Better yet, work with a lawn care specialist to get the job done right.
If your lawn doesn’t recover a few weeks after flushing out the excess fertilizer, the damage may be too severe. If this is the case, you may need to reseed the area. Consult with a professional on the next steps.
Fertilize the Right Way With Professional Help
Don’t hesitate to act on fertilizer burn. The sooner you notice the symptoms, the better your chances are of saving your lawn.
When you work with a lawn care specialist, you can avoid frustrating issues like fertilizer burn. The experts know how much fertilizer your lawn, plants and garden need and how to apply it evenly so they can thrive.
Avoid Fertilizer Burn with Help from ABC
Applying too much fertilizer can harm your grass, leading to dry, brown patches known as fertilizer burn. ABC Home & Commercial Services can help if you’re unsure how to strike the right balance. Our turf enrichment team knows how to apply the right products at the right time so your grass stays healthy, green and thriving. We can even refresh your landscaping while we’re at it.
