Last Updated on June 18, 2025 by Duncan

When the summer heat reaches full force, your lawn feels it just as much as you. Summer can be tough on grass, with high temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, and heavy foot traffic all taking their toll.

While summer lawn fertilizer can help maintain a healthy, green lawn, fertilizing incorrectly during the hot summer months might cause more harm than good.

Since you don’t want to ruin your lawn, you must be wondering what summer fertilizer you should go with that won’t burn grass, right?

To be on the safe side, go with liquid fertilizers. Unlike granular fertilizers, liquids can be applied more uniformly and absorbed faster, lowering the risk of burns or ugly streaks, particularly during hot, dry weather when the lawn is already stressed.

Why summer fertilization is risky

When applied in hot weather, fertilizers, notably those strong in quick-release nitrogen, can cause stress or even burn your lawn.

Excess nitrogen can encourage growth, causing your grass to work extra at a season when it is already under stress from heat and drought.

The nitrogen content of your fertilizer is also an important consideration. Quick-release nitrogen can overpower your grass throughout the summer, causing burn and uneven growth.

Slow-release nitrogen, on the other hand, delivers a consistent, controlled supply throughout time, nourishing your grass without overstimulating it.

How to apply summer lawn fertilizer properly

To get the most out of your fertilization efforts, especially throughout the summer, follow these expert tips:

Apply at the correct time.

Fertilize early in the summer or during periods of moderate weather.

Schedule applications for early morning or late evening when temperatures are cooler.

Avoid fertilizing during periods of excessive heat or drought, as well as when the lawn is dormant or stressed, as this might increase the risk of burn.

Prepare and water properly.

If you’re using granular fertilizer, irrigate your lawn a day or two before applying to keep the soil moist, which promotes nutrient uptake and lowers the danger of burning.

After applying the fertilizer, water again to help it dissolve and transfer nutrients into the root zone.

Mow strategically.

Raise your mower height in the summer to develop deeper roots and shade the soil, allowing the lawn to retain moisture and withstand stress.

To avoid shocking your turf, trim no more than one-third of the grass blade at a time.

Match summer lawn fertilizer to your lawn’s stage.

To stimulate root development without overstimulating top growth in newly sown lawns or sod, use starter fertilizers with lower nitrogen and greater phosphorus levels.

If your lawn is under severe drought stress, postpone fertilizer until conditions improve.

How to prevent fertilizer burn

Preventing grass fertilizer burns is easier than repairing an already damaged lawn. Use these simple prevention strategies to avoid the environmental damage caused by overfertilization, as well as the task of restoring injured turf.

Ensure that application equipment is calibrated correctly.

Calibrate your fertilizer spreader according to the directions for applying grass fertilizer. If you believe the spreader is not using the fertilizer accurately, perform a test pass on a firm surface.

Sweep up the output, measure it, and determine the application rate. Adjust the spreader as needed.

During dry periods, do not fertilize your lawn grass.

During droughts and extended periods of dry weather, lawn grass is prone to fertilizer burn. Apply fertilizer in cool weather after heavy rain, then water the lawn to spread the fertilizer.

Apply application equipment to a hard surface.

To avoid spilling fertilizer on your lawn, fill the spreader on a hard surface that is easy to clean. Immediately sweep up any spilled product.

Apply fertilizer with a low salt index.

Choose fertilizers with a low salt index. The amount of salt will be specified on the product label. A product with a low salt index is less likely to induce fertilizer burn.

Apply slow-release fertilizer.

Most of the time, when a product is referred to as slow-release fertilizer, it relates to fertilizer that has been coated with plastic resin or sulfur-based polymers that slowly degrade due to water, heat, sunlight, or soil microbes.

Slow-release fertilizers reduce the risk of fertilizer burn while remaining in the soil longer. Slow-release fertilizers are typically designed to last one to three months, depending on the amount of water your grass receives. It is one of the most effective summer fertilizers for grass.

Apply low-nitrogen fertilizer.

Summer fertilizer applications should also be low-nitrogen fertilizers that restore nutrients to the soil, allowing the grass to develop healthily throughout the summer.

Whereas nitrogen-rich fertilizers are acceptable for early spring green-up and growth, as previously stated, they can create additional stress to lawns in the summer, including burns.

That’s why low-nitrogen fertilizer is ideal for summer lawns.

Get your fertilizer right.

There is one way to ensure that you always make the appropriate fertilizer choice: hire a professional lawn care provider. As a rule of thumb, ensure that you hire an experienced professional who knows what they are doing.

Read the fertilizer application instructions.

Read the fertilizer application instructions and follow them exactly.

Parting shot

Know you know the best fertilizer you should go for to avoid burning your lawn with fertilizer. When selecting lawn fertilizer, make sure you have the proper mix. As mentioned, always go for slow release fertilizer that won’t ruin your lawn.

Years ago, people mainly used liquid, synthetic, fast-release, and agriculture-grade fertilizers on their lawns.

Fast-release fertilizer is designed to offer your lawn a swift boost by releasing nutrients into the soil nearly immediately (quick release).

While this is the case, these treatments frequently supplied too much nitrogen at once, and the microbes in the soil were unable to break it all down, causing the excess nitrogen to dry out grass blades and give the lawn a burned appearance.

During the summer, cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, tall fescue, and fine fescue turfgrasses typically should not be treated with fast release. That is because synthetic fertilizer that is not thoroughly soaked into the lawn causes stress and, in many cases, cause lawn burn.