Many landscapes can benefit from fertilizer services. If you're unsure about professional fertilization for a lawn, you can look for these seven signs that a solution may be necessary.

Heavy Thatching

When grass isn't thriving, it often keeps trying to grow. Failed layers of limited growth and dead materials can accumulate in one spot. Over time, these layers can form a thick thatching that begins to block water and nutrients from getting into the ground. This triggers a negative feedback loop where poor growth drives further poor growth.

In many cases, a landscape needs to clear out the thatched material. Once they've cleared the mess, they then have to apply fertilizer to restore the soil before seeding the area.

Weeds

Most weed species are opportunistic. If other plants aren't colonizing an area, weeds will often be the ones to do the job. The presence of weeds often signals that the soil isn't rich enough to support grass and other desirable plants. Consequently, weeds win because nothing else is quite as willing to grow in suboptimal conditions.

Discoloration

Low nitrogen levels in the soil tend to affect the color of the grass. If you see grass that's yellow even in good conditions, your lawn may require fertilizer services. This is particularly true if you see yellowing in late spring even when there's sufficient rain.

Lack of Resilience

While you expect some discoloration during droughts, extreme heat, and other adverse conditions, you also expect the plants to bounce back when things improve. If your landscape lacks resilience, it may be due to poor fertilizer levels.

Disease

Fertilizers won't magically cure plant diseases. However, a lack of nutrients in the soil can produce weak plants. These plants are often more susceptible to diseases. If you see widespread evidence of disease across unrelated plant species in a landscape, there's a good chance the fertilization levels are poor.

Patchiness

Plants may also fail to fill in if nutrient levels are low. The net effect is that a landscape will be patchy. You may see thin spots in the lawn or even patches with nothing. If you live in a rainy region, these spots may appear to be more muddy than dirty.

Weak Roots

Nutrient levels also affect the strength of the roots. If your plants don't seem to be putting down as deep of roots as you'd expect, they may be conserving resources by not growing as much. You may also notice loose soil and run-off because the plants aren't securing the landscape well.

Contact a company like Hudson Bros Lawn Care to find out more.