You can take some important steps now toward a better lawn next year. It's not too late to apply a balanced lawn fertilizer to prepare your lawn for winter conditions. In fact, your last fall lawn food application can be timed right around Halloween.

During the fall season, a curious and often confusing thing happens with lawn fertilizers. Numerous brands enter the picture touting to be "winterizers." Supposedly, they are formulated with nutrients lawns need for the fall and winter season. Some out-of-state brands will even claim that their products are specially made for Colorado lawns.

A good theory. But don't get confused and make the wrong choice. If it sounds to good to be true, it usually is, and this caveat applies to lawn care.

Our soils are alkaline, clay textured and some plant nutrients are unavailable. What works in some parts of the country may not apply in our region. So let's take a look at the basics of fall lawn fertilization for the Rocky Mountain region.

Cool season lawn grasses for our region have a clock all their own. Grasses grow differently in the autumn than in the spring. With the warm days and cool nights of fall, the top growth of lawn grasses slows down. Sod-forming bluegrass will send out tillers and rhizomes at a greater rate in the fall and these send down new grass roots. This growth process will produce a dense carpet of grass. You couldn't pick a better time to apply lawn fertilizer.

What kind of fertilizer is best at this time of year? You'll hear lots of theories and some conflicting opinions, but results speak the loudest. For lawns in the Rocky Mountain region, it is essential to provide a balance of major nutrients plus iron and sulfur. A good slow-release fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in approximately a 3-1-2 or 4-2-1 ratio.

Most lawn fertilizers that are formulated, manufactured and sold in the Rocky Mountain region contain added iron and sulfur. Lack of available iron, termed as iron chlorosis, is often responsible for the light yellow color of lawns. This is common in soils with a pH of 7.3 or above. It can be corrected with a fertilizer that contains an adequate amount of available iron. Most national fertilizer brands contain little or no iron, so read the label carefully. Some regionally-formulated lawn fertilizers for our alkaline soils include: Richlawn Turf Food, Colorado's Own and Nature's Cycle.

Tune in to the JOHN & JERI SHOW on 630 KHOW Saturday morning from 7 to 9 for more Gardening in the Rockies Tips.