Should I fertilise in winter?
Quick answer
Usually not, if you have a warm-season lawn in a cool or temperate area. Buffalo, kikuyu, couch and zoysia slow down or go dormant, so they use little fertiliser and more of it can wash away. In subtropical and tropical areas lawns may keep growing, so a light feed can help. Cool-season lawns grow in the cooler months.
Why this happens
Whether winter feeding makes sense depends on what your grass is doing. Warm-season grasses grow when it’s warm. As temperatures drop, buffalo, kikuyu, couch and zoysia slow down, and in temperate and cool areas they go dormant and lose colour.
A dormant lawn uses very little nitrogen. Fertiliser applied then mostly sits in the soil, where winter rain can carry it away, rather than turning into green growth. The colour loss you see in winter is dormancy, not hunger, so feeding won’t fix it.
In subtropical and tropical areas the picture is different. Lawns on the coast often keep growing slowly through winter, and a light feed at the label rate can help hold colour. Cool-season lawns, such as ryegrass and tall fescue, actually grow in the cooler months, so they’re fed then.
Use winter for other jobs
Winter is a good time to deal with winter weeds while they’re small, service your mower, calibrate your spreader, and plan your spring program. Add a reminder in your Lawn Journal for the first spring feed.
What if my lawn looks hungry in winter?
Pale colour in winter is normal for warm-season grasses in cooler areas. If the lawn was well fed through summer and autumn, it will green up again in spring. A lawn that looked pale and thin in the growing season is a different story: that’s a sign to adjust your spring and summer feeding, not to feed in winter.
It depends on your grass and climate
| If you have… | What changes |
|---|---|
| Temperate and cool areas | Warm-season lawns are largely dormant. Save the fertiliser for spring. |
| Subtropical areas | Coastal lawns often keep growing slowly. A light feed at the label rate can hold colour. |
| Tropical areas | Lawns grow most of the year. Follow the growing season rather than the calendar. |
Rows that match the grass and climate zone you've set are highlighted. Set your climate zone
What you can do
Check whether the lawn is growingCheck first
If you haven't needed to mow for weeks, it isn't using much fertiliser.
Deal with winter weeds instead
Winter is the time to dig out winter grass and bindii before they seed.
Plan the spring feed
Add a reminder to your Lawn Journal for when the lawn starts growing again.
What not to do
- Feeding a dormant lawn and having nutrients wash away in winter rain.
- Mistaking winter dormancy for hunger.
How much do I need?
A label rate of "20 mL per 100 m²" means: Rate 20, mL, per 100 m². Per hectare? Use 10,000 m².
How much you need
Enter your lawn area and a rate to see how much product and water you need.
Log it
Keep a record of what you applied, when, and at what rate. Your Lawn Journal works on this device without an account, and reminds you when the next step is due.
What's next
Related grass types, weeds, pests and diseases
Related questions
Related guides
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Sources
- How much water does my garden need?, Water Corporation (Western Australia)Lower evaporation in cooler months; overwatering leaches nutrients. Accessed 4 October 2026.
- Composition of nitrogen in urban residential stormwater runoff: concentrations, loads, and source characterization of nitrate and organic nitrogen, PLOS ONE (peer-reviewed journal), via PubMed CentralRainfall moves fertiliser nitrogen into stormwater. Accessed 4 October 2026.