UFLEXX® stabilized nitrogen fertilizer from Koch Turf & Ornamental has been Central Services’ answer to happy customers.
Central Services of Waukesha, Wisconsin, first started using UFLEXX fertilizer, from Koch Turf & Ornamental, several years ago, and they’re still using it today — which tells you how they feel about it.
“We loved it, and we’ve stayed with it,” says Sarah Mack, sales and operations manager with Central Services. “It is wonderful. You can tell the greener, darker, more healthier grass versus a lawn that doesn’t have it.”
Mack says they typically spray the 46-0-0 stabilized nitrogen. UFLEXX can be applied through spreading or spraying because it’s water soluble. When sprayed, it gets taken in by the leaf blade and absorbed through the entire plant.
“With other fertilizers, we noticed the grass can’t take it in as quickly,” Mack says. “And grasses thrive because it gets taken in.”
The dual-inhibitor formula ensures the urea is protected from volatilization above the soil surface, as well as leaching and denitrification below the soil surface. So, you can expect up to eight weeks of plant response per application and that more of the nitrogen that you apply will end up in the plant. Mack says that Central Services customers are interested in this environmentally friendly message.
“Because it’s absorbed in grass quicker, it’s used right away and doesn’t leach into groundwater,” she points out.
However, if a lawn is struggling, they’ll put UFLEXX down in granular form. Applied in this way, UFLEXX will break down and be taken in by the roots up into the blades, which will create a stronger plant.
“Once the grass is nice and healthy, we’ll make a liquid application unless it has some issues, in which case we’ll do granular,” Mack says.
Central Services offers good-better-best programs featuring UFLEXX to its customers, “best” being a five-application program. Customers can choose as little as one application, but Central Services highly recommends at least three, otherwise the customer won’t notice much of a difference.
“You’ll notice a little after one application, but it won’t stick around long-term,” says Mack.
Central Services also uses UFLEXX in combination with herbicides, insecticides or, if needed, fungicides.
Mack charges a little bit more for the programs using UFLEXX, but customers can see the value.
“The cost savings are long-term because we don’t have to do as many applications as close together as you do with the type of fertilizer that doesn’t stick around as long as UFLEXX,” says Mack. “So instead of five applications, you may need six or seven for the same results.”
“We like to use it because it is overall aesthetically pleasing to the customer,” she adds. “They love that it creates a better, greener color for grass and, over time, makes the grass fuller and healthier if it’s struggling in the beginning. So if we start on a lawn that hasn’t had any treatments, a few years down the road they’re praising it. And they’re recommending us to friends, neighbors, family and co-workers.”