Iron may be exactly what your lawn needs to deepen the color of your grass! Allyn Hane, “The Lawn Care Nut,” draws on his 15+ years of professional lawn care experience to explain how it works.
The Science Behind Adding Iron to Your Lawn
“Have you ever wondered how it is that some people are able to keep their lawn looking so green, it almost looks blue? Well, in this Toro Yard Hack, I’m gonna tell you exactly how they do it.
Now, we’ve talked previously about both micro and macro nutrients and the role that each plays in overall lawn health and vigor. Now, today we’re going to zero in on a micro that can visibly deepen the overall color and appearance of your turf. And consequently, it’s easy to find and even easier to apply.
The micro-nutrient I’m talking about is iron. Grass and other plants need iron in order to produce chlorophyll, which is necessary for photosynthesis. If the green chlorophyll does not develop in young plants, the leaves can look yellow, and this is called chlorosis. You may have also seen this condition in palm trees in the south or in River Birch trees throughout the rest of the country. Even if you don’t have a chlorosis problem, adding iron will give your lawn that next-level depth of blue-green that’s gonna set your lawn apart from the neighbors, for sure.”
Applying Iron
“The key is to ensure that the iron product that you obtain is chelated. This basically ensures that the iron will be readily available for plant uptake as soon as you apply it. You can find sources of liquid chelated iron at your local garden center or online. It’s also found in some fertilizers, like this one, that contains 2.5 percent chelated iron, along with macro-nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus.
Iron can also be used on well-irrigated turf in the summer, when you want to keep the lawn green but you don’t want to push growth with a lot of excess nitrogen. It can also be used as an alternative to keep the lawn green in areas of the country where fertilizing with nitrogen and phosphorus may be banned due to runoff during the rainy season.
If you’re really looking to stand out this season and have the deepest, darkest, greenest lawn on the block, I highly encourage you to consider adding iron into your lawn care regimen. For Toro, I’m Allyn Hane, The Lawn Care Nut. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the lawn.”
