Best Lawn Fertilizers Rated in 2024
It’s every homeowner’s dream to have a lush, green, and healthy lawn devoid of dead, yellowed and sparse grass. Attaining that dream, however, necessitates caring and nurturing your lawn by feeding it with the right nutrients and minerals as often as recommended. Your lawns and the plants in it require a proper balance of not only minerals and nutrients but also moisture, shade, and type of soil. It’s here that lawn fertilizers enter the scene. They offer a blend of the most important minerals – nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K) – to ensure your plants thrive and grow to their full potential.
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Considering the difficulty the vast majority of homeowners and greenhorns face in choosing the most suitable lawn fertilizer, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide to impart on you the requisite knowledge to enable you to make an independent, informed decision.
10 Best Lawn Fertilizers
1. Miracle-Gro 1001233 All Purpose Plant Food
The high mineral content, together with the fact that it comes with a convenient liquid format makes it quite easy and quick to apply to various plants in and around the house. It's a versatile choice that works wonderfully with flowers, vegetables, trees, shrubs, and houseplants. For the best results, the manufacturer recommends applying the product every one to two weeks. And unlike cheap, off-brand models on the market, using the lawn fertilizer is very easy. All you have to do is thoroughly mix the product in the watering can before proceeding to water your plants the normal way.
The Miracle-Gro 1001233 is an excellent choice for the homeowner in search of a lawn fertilizer that balances affordability and performance. It’s versatile, easy to use, and fast-acting. You’ll love it.
Comes in several sizes
Effortless application
Offers reliability
Cost-effective and provides impressive coverage
Not ideal for nurturing new growth
9. Osmocote Plus Outdoor and Indoor Smart-Release Plant Food
It differs from its competitors in the sense that it comes with nutrient granules with a semi-permeable resin coating. The thin design of the coating allows for the effortless penetration of water into the granule, thereby dissolving the encapsulated nutrients. The release of the nutrients is however dependent on weather changes. Higher temperatures encourage quicker and copious release of the nutrients while colder temperatures achieve the exact opposite. Of course after all the nutrients leave the semi-permeable resin it remains undissolved.
And applying it to your lawn is much easier and quicker than other varieties. You won’t have to use a bunch of tools. All you have to do is add it to the soil and ensure it properly mixes with the top layer. The smart release granules and the slow-release mechanism makes the lawn fertilizer one of the best money can buy.
Compatible with several plant varieties
Impervious to harsh growing conditions
Perfect for both indoor and outdoor plants
Safe for kids and pets
Has an advantageous slow-release mechanism
Pellets can stay for a long time before dissolving
Has one of the highest per-pound costs
3. Superior Nitrogen & Potash 15-0-15 NPK
The product is a perfect choice for use on lawns showing symptoms of nitrogen and potassium deficiency. Being a 15-0-15 phosphorous-free liquid lawn food nutritional supplement, it works all around the clock from the second of application to drastically improve the health of your lawn. The professional and seamless combination of nitrogen, potassium and humic/fulvic acid substantially intensifies green and growth and provides the most essential nutrients to ensure the grass remains strong and healthy during growth.
It should also be up your alley if you're looking for a lawn fertilizer you can apply quickly and easily. The bottle is designed for quick and even application with a coverage of up to 3,200 square feet, making it a solid choice for users with small to average-sized lawns. The formula is safe and pure and devoid of any harsh chemicals that would otherwise stress your lawn and grass. It's also safe for children and pets.
The Superior Nitrogen & Potash has several attendant advantages. For one, it’s pocket-friendly. To this add a high-performance and effective nutrition profile that devoid of phosphate. It's a great deal that will drastically rejuvenate the health of the weak and malnourished grass.
It’s 100% organic and safe
Budget-friendly
Perfect for all grass types
Facilitates root and blade development
None
4. Milorganite 0636
The highly nutritious profile of it takes the time, effort, and guesswork away from growing one of the thickest, greenest, and most lush lawns in the world. Because it is made primarily from heat-dried microbes, the lawn fertilizer works best on a lawn with a robust root system, helping the user quickly attain that elusive green-looking lawn they've always admired. And since it boasts a high nitrogen content, it's a perfect choice for promoting top growth. The 4 percent added iron, on the other hand, works by giving your lawn the deep green colour, guaranteed to make your lawn the envy of the neighbourhood in no time at all.
An additional impressive feature is the slow-release mechanism that guarantees durable outcomes of up to two months, conveniently translating to fewer applications. A 36-pound package should provide a coverage of up to 2,500 square feet, making it perfect for small lawns.
If you're looking for an option that rapidly penetrates the soil and boasts a high organic nitrogen content, look no further than the Milorganite 0636. If you can ignore the unpleasant fertilizer smell, you’ll its versatility and quick action.
Purely organic, hence safe
All-climate choice
Has iron for intensified greening
Designed for all season application
A little expensive
5. Safer Brand Ringer Lawn Restore
With a fertilizer analysis of 10-0-6, it works all around the clock from the first day of application in order for the substances in the soil balance properly, resulting to a healthy and green lawn in an average of 4 days. The lawn fertilizer is similarly an economical and effective choice. A single bag gives a coverage of 5,000 sq/f, therefore an ideal choice for medium-sized lawns. After an even and diligent application, you can now rest easy, confident in the knowledge the lawn is now able to survive droughts, diseases, distressing conditions.
For homeowners looking for an inexpensive way of making their lawns greener and lusher, take another look at this option. It’s an ideal choice for lawns with an already established root system. And it’s safe to use around or in the presence of kids and pets. So that’s another concrete reason to strongly consider it.
Easy to use
Works fast
Doesn’t harm or burn grass/lawn
Perfect for high-traffic yards
Lacks phosphorous
A little expensive
6. Jobe's Organics
It boasts a perfectly concentrated formula that starts work almost instantly to rejuvenate your garden, keeping it alive through the drought, rough climatic conditions, and extreme weather changes. It provides the love and care your plants need for a fuller and greener life. And it's a versatile and solid choice that works just as amazing with plants, tubers, bulbs, shrubs, and flowers as it does with food plants like vegetables.
As for directions of use, the manufacturer recommends applying it after every 12 weeks or once a season to achieve the best results. It also comes in its granulated "prilled" form to minimize dust as the user applies it. Besides, we like mentioned earlier, it's a safe and perfect choice for the lawn all plants on it. Plus, it's compatible with virtually all kinds of fertilizer spreaders.
The Jobe's Organics Bone Meal is without a double one of the best keys to healthy and green plants. It’s cost-effective, easy to apply, and boasts an effective fertilizer formula for the quick grown of plants.
USDA certified
Promotes root growth
Minimizes burning
Cost-effective
It’s not an all-season choice
7. Scotts Turf Builder 5,000-sq ft
As it indicates right on the package, it features a superior fertilizer analysis aimed at making your lawn strong so it withstands any future problems. It rapidly builds robust and sturdy roots capable of withstanding stresses occasioned by unpredictable and sudden weather changes and other unforeseen circumstances.
And the icing on the cake is that it is suitable for use with a wide range of grass types. Whether you are growing Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass, St. Augustine, Bermuda, or Tall Fescue, the results are remarkably similar across the board. Like our previous picks, this option helps with the growth of stronger and deeper roots capable of maximum absorption of water and nutrients. A single bag gives you a coverage of approximately 5000 square feet, meaning that it’s an ideal for medium-sized lawns. It’s recommended the homeowner uses a spreader when applying it to ensure an even application on every nook and cranny of the lawn.
The Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Food provides a quick, efficient, and cost-effective way of reviving a lacklustre lawn. It has the perfect fertilizer analysis that promises the strongest roots and healthiest plants. At its price, it’s an unbeatable deal.
Inexpensive
Doesn’t have phosphorous
Enhances root growth
Facilitates absorption of nutrients and water
Very effective and quick results
Needs a spreader
8. Espoma ELF20
First off, the Espoma ELF20 is 100 percent organic, meaning that unlike cheap, off-brand models masquerading as lawn fertilizers on the market, it's free of any chemicals that would harm your plants and lawn or garden. It's also safe to use around or in the presence of children and pets.
Unlike some of our previous picks, this food has the advantage, or disadvantage depending on how you look at it, of having a slow-release mechanism. The delayed gratification will see the blue pellets take their time on the soil surface before making their way into the soil with frequent watering. A little patience is later rewarded with strong and deep roots not to mention thick, green, and long leaves.
With such multifold benefits, it’s not a surprise the Espoma ELF20 is an all-time favourite of homeowners looking to revive their unfed and weak lawns. Aside from the delayed gratification, this lawn fertilizer works like a charm.
Eco-friendly and all organic
Prevents weed growth
Safe for children and pets
All-season application
Costly
Doesn’t encourage root growth and development
2. Scotts 26007B
Being an all-season option, the lawn fertilizer works by feeding and strengthening your lawn, and establishing a rock-solid foundation to ensure the roots of your plants grow deep and strong for maximum nutrients absorption. The infusion of it with the brand's All-in-One Particle technology substantially facilitates uniform greening and feeding which effectively brings to an end an unsightly situation where some plants are a lot greener than others. Like our previous pick, the lawn fertilizer is effective on all types of plants, including grass.
Still, applying it when the temperatures are soaring past 90 degrees Fahrenheit exposes your plants to lots of stress. To arrest that possibility, make a point of watering them immediately after applying it. Additionally, for best results, apply the feed between a 6 to 8 weeks window. The 32-0-4 NPK formula means the product doesn't come with an expiry date and can be applied easily and sparing for as long as it takes.
If you want a pocket-friend option to feed and strengthen your lawn, the Scotts 26007B Turf Builder Southern Triple Action comes highly recommended. It helps increase water and nutrient absorption and is an all-season choice for thoroughly fertilizing your lawn.
Safe for pets and children
Kills weeds
Cost-effective
It’s an all-season choice
Necessitates using a spreader
10. Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Food - for New Grass
The difference between this product and other models in terms of performance is glaring. It gets new grass growing quickly with its immensely beneficial fertilizer analysis that contains all the essential nutrients and minerals for a healthy growth. The 24-25-4 fertilizer ratio encourages the quick and strong development of the roots and the leaves, or blades. Compared to your neighbour's unfed lawn, yours will soon be turning your neighbour green with envy.
For best results, the manufacturer recommends watering your lawn at least once per day to ensure the soil remains moist. Regularly feed it to maintain its thick, green look. Mowing is only recommended when the grass reaches a height of 3-inches. The bag is earmarked for a 1000 square foot area. If you have a bigger lawn, you’re going to need several of these bags.
In all, that the product a pocket-friendly lawn fertilizer containing all the essential nutrients and minerals for the quick, healthy, and strong growth of grass. It's a flexible choice that will bear the same amazing results for a broad range of grass types. It quickly enhances root and blade development thereby improving absorption, enabling the grass to withstand adverse weather conditions and changes.
Perfect for new grass
Promotes root and blade growth
Compatible with virtually all grass types
Doesn’t require watering after you apply it
Coverage of 1,000 square feet is small
Criteria for Choosing the Best Lawn Fertilizers
Quality
The quality of a lawn fertilizer may not seem like a worthy consideration but it’s a big deal. Obviously, using a high-quality lawn fertilizer on one lawn and a substandard one another will achieve very different results. A high-quality product guarantees a quickly growing, healthy, and green lawn that in turn occasions big, beautiful and thriving flowers.
To this end, keep in mind the overall quality of your choice, including the consistency and presence of all the essential minerals and nutrients.
Composition
Choosing an ideal lawn fertilizer involves considering the constituent elements to gain a better understanding of its ingredients. In addition to having high-quality ingredients, the product needs to be deficient of any materials or substances that would be inimical to the health of the lawn, the plants in it, and the user.
No one wants to expose themselves and their loved ones to dangerous chemicals for the sake of having a green, lush, and healthy lawn, and we bet neither do you. As a health-conscious user, make a point of verifying the safety of the ingredients to your pets and children before committing your hard earned money.
Safety
As mentioned above, you have the choice of going for the highest quality and safest lawn fertilizer the market has to offer so as to not expose yourself and your family to any harm. Closely related to that is the choice you have to make between using lawn fertilizers made from purely organic matter, or purely synthetic materials or a combination of both.
The market is filled to the brim with varieties to meet an individual’s unique needs, and so does our list. Irrespective of your choice, expect to find some high-quality options boasting incredible consistency aimed at rejuvenating lawns and a wide range of grass types.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is there a specific fertilizer to water ratio to observe when applying lawn fertilizers?
A: The ratio varies from one product to another and in some cases you don’t need water at all. Check the instructions on the package before proceeding.
Q: What does the NPK value mean and what do I make of it?
A: The NPK value is an indication of the percent of macronutrients present in the package and it’s expressed as a percentage of weight. N stands for nitrogen, P for phosphorous, while K stands for potassium. As an example, a lawn fertilizer with the NPK value of 20-5-10 means the package has 20% nitrogen, 5% phosphorous, and 15% potassium.
Conclusion
Attaining a picture perfect lawn dotted with several lush, green and healthy plants requires effort and patience. However, with the right lawn fertilizer, you don’t have to hold your breath for years. Luckily, our list features some of the best the market has to offer. They are effective, cost-effective, and very easy to use.
After a few weeks of consistent use, they should rejuvenate your lawn and the plants on it. Happy shopping.