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Winterizing the lawnEvery year about this time the tips about winterizing the home begin to roll in. Check the door sweeps, seal up cracks around windows with some caulk, and patch up openings that might allow critters to take up residence in the attic. These are all great tips, but there is one winter-readiness tip that I'm not ready to hop on board with. On the shelves at the box stores and garden centers you will find bags of products begging you to apply them to the turf or be forced to watch the lawn die a slow painful death in the bitter cold. Sounds a bit dramatic, but that seems to be the sales pitch. So I wanted to dig a bit deeper and find out what this magic potion really does. Lawn winterizing products typically will have low nitrogen and phosphorus levels with a punched up level of potassium. Potassium has a great deal of involvement in the regulation of plant cell solution, or the liquid that is inside the plant. Winterizers claim to prevent the bursting of plant cells caused by harsh winter temperatures on the lawn. What happens in the plant cell is not really the same as filling a water bottle to the brim and then causing it to swell or crack by freezing it. Generally water freezes in the spaces between the cell walls, and this ice formation draws liquid water from the living cells. The living cells are stressed and sometimes killed, not by bursting, but by the dehydration imposed by water moving from the cell into the spaces between the cells. So the real problem can be blamed on dehydration caused by the low temperatures. The role potassium can play goes back to the old days of osmosis in biology. Anyone remember biology? Things in nature always prefer to be in balance. If we are to think of potassium as a salt, imagine a higher concentration of salt inside the plant cell. The liquid solution outside the cells then wishes to balance out the high salt concentration, and draws water into the cell from the low salt concentration outside the cell. This can therefore prevent the dehydration of the cell during freezing temperatures. So if potassium really has a role in preventing cold damage to plant cells, why am I hesitant to put it on the lawn? Here's why. Let's say that your car holds six quarts of oil, but just for good measure and to make sure it runs especially well, the mechanic puts in eight quarts and charges you for it. How pleased would you be with the 'extra' service? Potassium, and phosphorus for that matter, work like the oil in a car. Once the level has reached the full line it is not necessary and sometimes can be detrimental to add more. In the last month I have completed about 100 soil test interpretations. Of those, approximately 5 were deficient in potassium. So if 95 percent of lawns are at the full mark on potassium--who is buying all of the lawn winterizer? My guess is individuals that want to do the best for their lawn, but are lacking in some science-based information. These products definitely have place in a lawn that is deficient in potassium and can help to protect a dormant turf. But only a soil analysis can give the answer to that--no matter what the bag says. The addition of chemicals to a landscape where no mineral deficiency exists is a waste of time, money and resources, and more importantly, is environmentally irresponsible. The best real defense is to maintain a healthy turf throughout the growing season, and be cognizant of environmental conditions during the wintertime to ensure the landscape does not get parched. If the correct nutrients are there during the season, then the lawn will have the best fighting chance when cooler weather rears its head. And that is a winter readiness tip you can bet on. 9/15/08 Date: 9/9/08
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