The Garden Center Wants You to Fertilize Before Winter — Your Plants May Not Need It

A bag of fall fertilizer may look like essential garden equipment, but healthy plants often need less feeding and more thoughtful soil care before winter – Shutterstock

Walk into a garden center in autumn and it can feel like every plant has suddenly developed a nutritional emergency. Bags of fertilizer promise stronger roots, better winter performance, and a more impressive garden next spring, making that end-of-season purchase seem like an easy decision.

Many established plants do not need a late-season feeding, and adding fertilizer at the wrong time can encourage growth when the plant should start preparing for dormancy. Before tossing another bag into the cart, it helps to know what the plants actually need.