Fine Gardening

Have you heard of specific fertilizers for the winter season? Yes, there are winter fertilizers available in the market and these are more commonly known as Winterizer fertilizers. They are available at most garden supply stores. The winter fertilizer for lawn is very popular as it helps the lawn grass to stay better preventing it from wilting quickly during winters.

The term winterizer means to prepare for the winter and so the winterizer fertilizers prepare the plants to withstand the extremes of the winter season. Winter fertilizers serve the benefits of making your plant stay greener for longer periods and induce early green up during spring seasons. It is good to apply winter fertilizers for your plants once every year.

The percentage of the various ingredients of the winter fertilizers are often printed on the pack covers. These are a combination of the minerals like Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium. The quantity of the ingredients is specified in an order and is different for the winter fertilizers. The winter fertilizers will have more of potassium and less of nitrogen in it unlike the regular fertilizers. Potassium is the mineral which plays the major role in the winter fertilizers. It improves the tolerance of the plants towards the cold climate and enhances the root systems. As a result the plant roots absorb and store more nutrients required for the period.

The release of nitrogen is slow and this keeps the soil fertilized for up to 16 weeks after application. Usually this will last till all the snow melts away from the ground. This slow release of nitrogen ensures that the plants get good nutrition all through the period and results in the plant growing better and greener.

You can apply winter fertilizers to the plants during the months of October or November, before the snow starts falling. The plants must be healthy when you apply the winter fertilizer. If it already shows discolouration, do not apply the fertilizer. This may make the plant to wilt soon. If you apply the fertilizer before fall and fall does not activate it, then the fertilizer stays as it is on the ground till spring. So it is always advisable to buy quality brands of the fertilizers as the bad ones can spoil and harm your plants. Also you must store the fertilizer under dry conditions. It must not be exposed to moisture as it will absorb the moisture and start releasing the nitrogen. So by the time you actually apply the fertilizer, the nitrogen meant for the plants would have been lost.

Always apply the fertilizer in specified quantities only. Over application can lead to early wilting of the plant due the concentration of potassium. The amount of application will often be indicated on the covers of the fertilizer. For more advice, you can ask the garden supply stores or browse the internet. There are lot of resources available on the internet which offer tips on applying the winter fertilizers and the types of plants for which it is best suited.