What is the best way to get a green lawn . . . quick! (grow, fertilizer)

[user9430961]

I live in Los Angeles, and have a St. Augustine lawn. Long story short, I missed the winter rye grass planting season, where I would have cut my lawn short, planted winter rye grass, and topped it off with steer manure. Yet with only 1 major rainstorm this year and so much warmer weather overall thus far, I am not sure if winter rye grass would have done well with our current weather this winter.

Last year in March, I had a gardener clean up my yard (cut the lawn, weed the flowerbeds, trim the hedges, etc.). He offered to fertilize the lawn with a fertilizer called Nitra King All Season Lawn Fertilizer. Once he fertilized the lawn, he said that I would need to water the lawn for a few minutes each day for at least a week. After about 3 days, my lawn started to turn green, the grass grew VERY rapidly, where I had to cut it once a week . . . whereas before (since it was winter), I only had to cut my grass about once every 3 to 4 weeks (before the fertilizer was added). Best of all, the fertilizer granules did not stain the driveway or sidewalk.

Unfortunately, I have misplaced the gardener’s phone number. I would love to put the same fertilizer down this year, but I have found that I can not seem to buy Nitra King All Season Lawn Fertilizer retail, it seems that it may only be available commercially in my area. I only have Home Depot and Lowe's in my neighborhood.

So I am wondering, can anyone recommend an alternate fertilizer that will quickly make my lawn green and grow in a few days (without the fertilizer staining my driveway and sidewalk)? I had read some of the available fertilizers that can do this, often will stain driveways and sidewalks.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[leastprime]

ammonia in a hose sprayer.
miracle grow in a hose sprayer
46N granular in a hose sprayer.
apply as recommended but I'd would use about 1/2 less to avoid burning the grass.
Apply in late afternoon or early morning.
Water daily thereafter, morning and afternoon.
Should see greening in 3 days.
YMMV, use at your risk

[wellmabt]

Avoid quick green-up fertilizers like the plague. Sure, short-term it may look good, but setting yourself up for long-term problems.

[eric johns]

I don’t have a lawn now, but when I did, I used Miracle Grow in a hose sprayer for years. I used it on the trees, too.

[user9430961]

Thank you Everyone! I greatly appreciate your help and suggestions so very, very much!

Based on the comments and suggestions, I think I will try the Miracle Grow lawn fertilizer. Looking on Amazon, it has received some very good reviews.

Right now, I am just wondering about how long should it take to see some improvements on my lawn, once I use it? Right now, on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being best), my lawn looks about a 4 or 5 . . . but since it is winter, it is normal for St. Augustine grass to be somewhat dormant in Los Angeles this time of year.

eric johns, how often did you have to use Miracle Grow on your lawn (each time you watered or several times per year), and how often did you water your lawn to get your desired looked/greenness?

Thanks again, Everyone!