When and how often should you apply plant fertilizer: Tips, timing, more in Dan Gill's mailbag

QUESTION: I'm trying to decide when to fertilize the many different kinds of plants in my landscape. I don't know when to start fertilizing or when I should stop. What is the best fertilizer to use and how often should it be applied? -- Sam DuPont

ANSWER: You are not alone. I get these questions all the time. First, keep in mind that nothing will die in your landscape if you don't fertilize. Fertilization is not done to keep plants alive, but to make sure they grow their best. You do not need a ridged schedule that has to be followed precisely. It's not that complicated.

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Generally speaking, the best time to fertilize landscape plants is around the time they begin to grow actively. The worst time to fertilize plants is at the end of their growing season. Trees, for example, begin to wake up and grow in early spring, and typically are fertilized once in February or March. Most shrubs make active growth in the spring and early summer, so we tend to fertilize them once around March or April. Lawns are allowed to green up before fertilizing in late March or early April and are fertilized again in midsummer.