How much nitrogen a lawn gets per feeding and per year, by extension source
Pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft in one feeding and in a year, from state extension pages, with a table by grass.
By LawnYear editorial team · Published · Updated Windows are read from the extension publications listed under Sources; the dates are approximate.
Approximate dates for your state. Check with your local cooperative extension office before you act.
TL;DR: Most extension pages stop a single nitrogen feeding at about 1 lb per 1,000 sq ft, with lighter spring feedings of 1/2 lb. Yearly totals run from 1 to 2 lb for centipedegrass to 2 to 5 lb for bermudagrass and St. Augustinegrass, depending on the grass and the state.
What is a nitrogen rate on a lawn?
A lawn nitrogen rate is the pounds of actual nitrogen, the N in the fertilizer rather than the weight of the bag, that an extension publication says to put on each 1,000 sq ft, either in one feeding or across a year.
The bag is a second sum. The calculator on this site divides the nitrogen by the percent on the bag, so 1 lb of nitrogen from a 24 percent product means about 4.2 lb of fertilizer. Its single-feeding range, 1/2 to 1 lb, comes from Kentucky, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Clemson and Texas A&M, and its note says some calendars schedule a larger feeding, such as Indiana's 1.5 lb in November.
How much nitrogen goes on in one feeding
One pound is the ceiling most pages name. Kentucky calls 1 lb of actual nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft its general guideline for any one application. Wisconsin says no application should exceed 1 lb, and Tennessee says no more than 1 lb at one time. The fall feedings in the pages are mostly exactly that: NC State in mid-September and November, Missouri in mid-September and mid-October, Ohio in late fall, Indiana in September, and Tennessee on September 1, October 15 and November 15. Wisconsin gives about 1 lb of controlled-release nitrogen in early September, and New Jersey about 1 lb for a lawn in full sun in late summer to early fall.
Spring feedings are lighter. Ohio gives 1/2 lb around April 1 and again around May 25, and no more than 3/4 lb in one spring application after a late-fall feeding. Tennessee gives 1/2 lb on March 15 and April 15. Missouri gives 0.5 to 1 lb in April. Virginia ranks spring second best at 0.25 to 0.5 lb every 4 to 8 weeks, against up to 0.7 lb every 3 to 4 weeks in fall. Wisconsin's late-May feeding is 1 lb in full sun and 1/2 lb in shade.
Indiana is the exception. Its calendar puts 1.5 lb in November, as a fast-release product such as urea after the final mowing while the grass is still green. That is above the 1 lb that Kentucky, Wisconsin and Tennessee treat as the limit for one application. The pages do not comment on each other, so the gap is ours to point out, not theirs to explain.
Warm-season lawns follow the same half-pound-to-a-pound pattern. Clemson and Texas A&M both give 1/2 to 1 lb per feeding, and Texas spreads 1 to 4 feedings over the season. NC State gives 1/2 to 1 lb of nitrogen to bermudagrass after green-up and then 1 lb every four to six weeks from June to August, but no more than 1/2 lb in September.
Yearly nitrogen totals by grass
Yearly totals are stated outright by the Georgia, Kentucky, Alabama, Texas and Missouri pages. Alabama gives two schedules for each grass, a standard one and a larger maximum one. Georgia and Kentucky give a range for the year.
Several cool-season pages list feeding dates and leave out a yearly figure. Adding up the feedings they list gives our own sums: 3 lb for NC State's tall fescue (1 lb in February, mid-September and November), 4 lb for Tennessee tall fescue (1/2 lb on March 15 and April 15, then 1 lb on three fall dates) and 2.5 to 3 lb for Missouri (0.5 to 1 lb in April, then 1 lb in September and 1 lb in October).
| Grass | Yearly nitrogen, by state |
|---|---|
| Tall fescue | Georgia 2 to 4 lb; Kentucky 2 to 4 lb, in autumn; Alabama 3 lb standard, 4 lb maximum |
| Kentucky bluegrass | Kentucky 2 to 4 lb, in autumn |
| Bermudagrass | Georgia 2 to 5 lb; Kentucky 3 to 4 lb, in summer; Alabama 3 lb standard, 5 lb maximum |
| Zoysiagrass | Georgia 2 to 3 lb; Missouri 2 to 3 lb; Alabama 2 lb standard, 3 lb maximum; Kentucky 1 to 2 lb, in summer |
| St. Augustinegrass | Georgia 2 to 5 lb; Texas no more than 4 lb; Alabama 2 lb standard, 4 lb maximum |
| Centipedegrass | Georgia 1 to 2 lb; Alabama 1 lb standard, 2 lb maximum |
When the nitrogen goes on
The pounds sit in different months for the two kinds of grass. For cool-season lawns, Kentucky calls fall the best time to fertilize and says that if color is not a concern, spring feeding can be skipped because crabgrass and other weeds respond more than the grass does. Georgia lists February and March and October and November as the best months for tall fescue.
For warm-season lawns the pounds go on from late spring through summer. Kentucky says late spring into summer for bermudagrass and zoysiagrass. Georgia lists May to August as the best months for bermudagrass and St. Augustinegrass, and says not to feed warm-season grasses in spring until the soil at 4 in is constantly 65 F and rising. Missouri starts zoysiagrass in late May to early June and says not to fertilize into September. Clemson says to apply no nitrogen to bermudagrass from January to April or from September to December.
Why the numbers differ, and what the sources leave out
Some of the spread is maintenance level. Indiana's calendar sorts lawns into high, medium and low, Wisconsin's A3435 does the same, and Kentucky ties the number of autumn feedings to the level. A lawn kept at a higher level gets more feedings, so the yearly totals are not comparable without it.
Several pages hand the final amount to a soil test. Georgia says to follow it, NC State says to test first, and Virginia says to test every 3 to 4 years. Maryland's page says the amount depends on a soil test and gives no rate, and Penn State refers to the label rate. These pages are left out of the table because they give no number to compare.
Frequently asked questions
- How many pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 sq ft per application?
- Most pages stop at 1 lb. Kentucky calls 1 lb its general guideline, and Wisconsin and Tennessee say not to exceed it. Spring feedings are often 1/2 lb. Indiana's 1.5 lb November feeding is the exception found here.
- How much nitrogen does a tall fescue lawn need per year?
- Georgia and Kentucky both give 2 to 4 lb per 1,000 sq ft a year for tall fescue. Alabama gives 3 lb on its standard schedule and 4 lb on its maximum one. Kentucky puts the feedings in autumn.
- How much nitrogen does bermudagrass need per year?
- Georgia gives 2 to 5 lb per 1,000 sq ft a year and Kentucky gives 3 to 4 lb, in summer. Alabama gives 3 lb on its standard schedule and 5 lb on its maximum schedule.
- How do I turn pounds of nitrogen into pounds of fertilizer?
- Divide the pounds of nitrogen by the nitrogen percent on the bag, written as a decimal. For 1 lb of nitrogen, a 24 percent product needs about 4.2 lb of fertilizer per 1,000 sq ft.
- When should warm-season grass get no nitrogen?
- Clemson says to apply none to South Carolina bermudagrass from September to December, and Missouri says not to fertilize zoysiagrass into September. Georgia holds spring feeding until the soil at 4 in is constantly 65 F and rising.
How we read the sources: where a post sets states or grasses side by side, the comparison is ours, made by reading the extension pages next to each other. Every number comes from the page named.